Fusion: War of Heroes
by Anomynous Nin
Summary: A fusion world has been created, and the universe has been plunged into turmoil. Naruto has been involved in it and he, with his new friends, has to save it. He won't fall until he realizes his promise for a friend and loved one. Manga X-over. NaruSaku
1. Prologue: A Twist in the World

Hey, everyone. It's me, Anomynous Nin. And I'm here with a new fanfic... Well, yet again. But this fic is a X-over fic, because I felt like making it, after all this time! I always want to make a X-over fic with my favorite mangas. And now, it's the time! But... I hope it doesn't suck, because of the storyline or because of my writing skills, which is pretty poor. But who knows. Can't know until you try, right? Oh, and the reason why I put this in the Naruto is because... Well, there's a lot of mangas in it. And if I put it in the X-over section, less people will come for it. So... This is my only option. Anyways, here it is! Enjoy while you can. Oh. And by the way, watch out for spoilers.

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashback_

**Jutsu name**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the mangas that are in the fic.

---

_Year 8754 After Eclipse: A mysterious visitor._

_As you may know, we are known as the people of the forbidden land named Eclipsia. We are those who are not known to anyone in the outside world. Our land has been in the other side of the world since then, after the eclipse that occured 8754 years ago. We are not known by men of the outside world, but we are those who are watching over it, keeping it safe from anything that will bring pain to it. But to be fair, we are not Gods. We cannot do everything that the people desired. But we tried the best we can to restore peace for them._

_After many years after the eclipse... We received a mysterious visitor not known to us. They do not look like the people from the outside world. They are a mysterious specimen. How they entered our land is a mystery. They do not speak at all, but we can tell that they are here to see our land. However, we declined their desire, worried that our land would be exposed to the outside world. We send them away from our land. But I cannot tell if what I am feeling is regret. But we cannot let our land to be exposed by anyone._

_Year 8755 A.E.: The murder._

_Something... terrible has happened to our land... We found many of our people slaughtered mysteriously after a week has passed. One by one, they were slaughtered each week without any evidence. But why...? How could this have happened? It cannot be a murder in our land. We are the protector of the outside world. How can any of us are the one causing the murders...? This year, we are living in fear... And yet, we have no hope of finding who is responsible for it..._

_Year 8756 A.E.: The truth._

_... So that is why... That is why our people has been slaughtered... It was the mysterious visitors. They did not let us be. Instead, they are watching us, causing each of those murders without any suspicions from any of us. They had us fooled... Is that the consequences? Are they loathing us? But we are supposed to be hidden from the outside world. We cannot be discovered. Or else, it will break the cycle and lead the land into destruction... But we cannot let that happen. If that is what they are doing, then we are to fight back, to send them away completely. This is the beginning of a war against them. And we shall grow victorious!_

_Year 8757 A.E.: The defeat._

_... We have lost... Many of our people had been defeated... Our land has been crushed... And our hope is lost... We underestimated the power of the visitors. And because of that, we have failed to protect our land... But we have only one chance left. If that will work, then I must send someone to the outside world. Someone who holds the same blood as me, but only her powers are enough to achieve a certain goal... My one and only daughter... Who is also the Chosen One._

_My daughter... if you are reading this, then I must tell you... You have to find the ones who will bring vistory to their world. I should have known that the time has come... But I am already prepared to send out the last hope. The ones that you are to find are written here, but only in descriptions. They are only some of them, but they will be more on your way. With your powers, you can sense them to be the ones that we need the most... I want you to find the people that I will describe here._

_The Jinchuuriki of the Leaf._

_The Substitute Shinigami._

_The Future King of the Pirates._

_The Saiyan of Earth._

_The Half-Demon boy._

_The FullMetal Alchemist._

_The Mototsumitama with the name of Dark._

_The Scythe Technician._

_Those are the people that we have found in the outside world. They have great potential, and will help you through your way to bring peace to their world. I want you to find them... And restore the balance of life. I am counting on you, my daughter... And I love you..._

_Farewell..._

_--- Reinhart Beldam, heir of the Beldam clan... And your loving father._

"... Father..." The young Chosen One sobbed quietly, upon reading her father's last notes. She is a 15 year old young lady, who has a long, brown hair that stops to her waist. She wears a yellow kimono that suits the appearance of a priestess. She was seen sitting under a tree, in the night where the moon shines onto the earth in its beauty.

The Chosen One was the last survivor of the people from Eclipsia, and the only hope of peace. However, she did not know what to do now. She would go and find the people that her father had chosen in his diary, but she was feeling scared and alone. What if she fails? What if she will die soon by someone that she did not know about? She was feeling hopeless... Without her father, she cannot hope to accomplish it, without any help from anyone from the land. But she had to do it. It is fro the sake of the people of the outside world, the world that she is standing now.

"Father..." she said once more, as she looked up to the night sky with her eyes still filled with overflowing tears. "What should I do...? Father..."

**Prologue:**

**A Twist in the World**

"... Damn it..." said the 15 year-old blond shinobi of the leaf, who is seen standing in front of the memorial stone, which was one of the place where it wasn't destroyed. To everyone, he is known as Uzumaki Naruto, of Konohagakure, who is also the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon. When he was a young boy, everyone shunned him because of Kyuubi, who rests inside of him ever since he was born. He was a nobody, someone who will endanger everyone anytime, anywhere. He was a lonely boy.

However, afterwards, he had found some friends who cherished him, who acknowledge him for who he is. Also, after the many times that he had gone through, that includes bringing Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sanin, back to Konoha to become the Gondaime, and saving Gaara, the current Kazekage of Suna, from the hands of the Akatsuki, even though Shukaku was extracted from him, everyone in the village began to acknowledge him as himself, and not as Kyuubi. To everyone, Naruto would become the light of their world.

But now, Naruto is feeling sad, frustrated and betrayed. All because of that one person who he had promised for a lifetime... Haruno Sakura.

_Flashback_

_Naruto had managed to escape from Yamato, by creating a Bunshin to take his place and distract Yamato. He was heading towards where Kakashi and Sai went, as well as where Sakura, Lee and Kiba went. He couldn't just sit there and get sent back to the village for no reason. He had to find Sasuke and bring him back for sure, no matter what. "Sasuke... Just you wait!" he said, as he speeded up to catch up._

_It was only a couple of minutes since he left. And he was still feeling impatient and was trying to catch up with Sasuke, wherever he is. But soon then, he spotted something a little far away. "What the...?" From his view, it looked like three people laying on the ground. Not one of them seemed to be moving. So he decided to take a stop right there and check it out. Once he had done that, he gasped. "Kiba...? Bushy Brow...? Sai...?"_

_He had found three of his comrades laying on the ground, sleeping soundly. But why? Maybe... It might have been an ambushed, and they were put to sleep by someone. But who? Suddenly, he found something odd around the group. "Wait... Where's Sakura-chan?" Sakura wasn't within the group. If she was ambushed too, then she should have been with them. Maybe... Someone brought her with him and went away. Naruto gritted his teeth at the thought of that. "That bastard...! How dare he kidnapped Sakura-chan!" After he said it, he continued his way towards where Sasuke would be._

_First, Sasuke left the village, and now, Sakura is kidnapped! He couldn't feel more angry about it than before. When he finds the person who kidnapped her, he will beat him up senselessly. Then, he spotted an opening from the forest. A clear view of a constructive area. Could Sasuke be there? He had to find out. As he speeded up more and more, he soon reached the area and landed on the solid ground. "SASUKE!!!" he screamed at his name. After examining what's in front of him, he gasped out of shock. There is something that he couldn't imagine that to happen. He saw someone... standing over the fallen body of his sensei. "... Sakura-chan...?"_

_It is true. Sakura was standing over the unconscious Kakashi, all bloodied, but still breathing. Sakura looked over to look at someone who called her name and she gasped. "... Naruto..."_

_Standing a little further back away from her is Sasuke, in an Akatsuki cloak, as well as a mysterious red-head girl who sat near him, who also seemed to be injured, with the blood and all. She wasn't looking directly at him or even Sakura, but she did indeed look at Naruto. "What... Who is...?" she said quietly._

_"... Naruto." said Sasuke, showing his unexpressive voice towards Naruto. "I never thought I'd see you again... But not like this."_

_"Sasuke... But... What's... going on...?" asked Naruto, who is still shocked to even speak out the words he wanted to say._

_"You see, Naruto... A little while back, Sakura came and found me here... I thought that it would be a waste of time to deal her again, but what she wanted... was to join me and leave Konoha behind... Just like me..."_

_"What...?!"_

_"And to show that she really mean it, she went and defeat Kakashi, who is just in time to see his own comrade fighting against him..."_

_"No... No, that's not true...! Sakura would never do that to me, to everyone! You gotta be lying, Sasuke!" Everything Sasuke said was a huge shock to him. But he didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that Sakura would do that just to join Sasuke. But then again, he was enraged of what Sasuke said, deeming it to be a lie. He ran towards him, prepared to attack him at all cost. "I'm NOT gonna let you trick me like that, Sasuke!" he yelled, as he drew out his kunai and prepared to attack him. However, he was soon stopped by Sakura, who quickly stood in front of him, halting him from his charge. "Sakura-chan...! What are you...?!"_

_"Naruto..." she said quietly, unable to look at him in the eyes. "... It's true... I did beat Kakashi-sensei... to join Sasuke-kun..."_

_He widened his eyes in pure shock. He couldn't believe it when Sasuke said it. But when she said it... No... he didn't want to believe it. It's just too sudden! "But... Sakura-chan, I...!"_

_"You see, Naruto?" said Sasuke. "What I said is true. Sakura did want to join me. And nothing you do will change her mind... Her mind is already set..."_

_"No...! This can't be right...! I won't believe it!"_

_"If you still don't believe any of us... Then allow me to show you again."_

_"What...?"_

_"Sakura." Sasuke called her._

_"Yes, Sasuke-kun...?" said Sakura._

_"Defeat Naruto... I don't care if he lives or dies. Just do what you want with him."_

_"... Hai." With that said and done, Sakura quickly pulled her fist back and threw it towards Naruto. Naruto was too slow to suspect the attack, and her fist hit his face, as he was sent flying to the forest, before he crashed onto one the trees. The massive shockwave was enough to make it fall from where it stood._

_Naruto groaned in pain at the attack Sakura sent to him. Only his face was hit, but it felt like his entire body took that hit as well. It took him a while to stand up from the ground and steady himself from stumpling back down. He looked at her with shock in his eyes. "Sakura-chan, what are you...?!"_

_"I won't let you hurt Sasuke-kun, Naruto..."_

_"But why...?! I thought...!"_

_"I have made my decision, Naruto. If you're going to get to Sasuke-kun..." Sakura positioned herself into her fight position, ready to face Naruto, no matter what the cost is. "... Then you'll have to go through me!"_

_He wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to fight Sakura. But what she did... was too overwhelming. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to!" but...! I can't, Sakura-chan...! I don't want to fight you!"_

_"Then I'll MAKE you fight me!" Without any second to waste, she charged towards him, with her fist ready to punch him once more. Naruto quickly noticed the charge, and before she could reach him, he dodged her, making her punch the empty air. However, she quickly turned to him and slammed her fist down towards him. But he dodged it as well, but the massive strength was enough to break the ground around them, making him stumple to the ground. Sakura jumped into the air and dived down towards him, her fist ready for yet another attack. Naruto managed to crawl away from her attack point and jumped right away, before her fist slammed the ground again, as it broke once more into little pieces._

_Naruto landed a little away from her, unable to fight back. "Sakura-chan, please! I don't want to fight you! Not like this!"_

_"You stubborn little baka!" She wasted no time on charging towards Naruto again, but this time, she drew out her kunai instead of her fist. She let out a battle cry, as she was getting closer and closer to him. As she reached him, she attempted to slash him._

_But Naruto dodged it in time, by pulling his back down to avoid her horizontal slash. But the kunai nicked the bottom of his chin, just slightly. After that, he jumped away from her again, a few feet back. "How many times do I have to tell you, Sakura-chan! I don't want to fight you!" He was begging for Sakura to stop fighting him. But then, he felt a sudden shock inside of his body. For some reason, his body gave in and he fell to the ground. Naruto couldn't move it. It was completely immobilize. "What...?! My body...! I can't...!''_

_"It's over, Naruto... I coated my kunai with paralyzing liquid." she said, as she showed him the drop of liquid that fell from her kunai. "The liquid spread itself all over your body, disabling it from functioning. The effect will wear off in an hour or so. And that also means... that our battle is over for now." As she said it, she walked over to Sasuke._

_Sasuke slightly scoffed. "So you decided to let him live..."_

_"Hai..."_

_"Hmph... Fair enough. I don't want to waste my time with that idiot. I have bigger plans to take care of. Let's go, Sakura. Karin." he said, as he quickly jumped away from the area, to rejoin Madara. The red-head girl, known as Karin, still sat there for a while. But she stood up after that. But she still won't move from her spot._

_Sakura began to walk away from Naruto, until he cried out. "Sakura-chan! Don't do this! Think about what you're doing!"_

_"... Shut up... Nothing you say will change my mind. I decided to join him by my own will." she said, not even turning around to look at him._

_"But please...! Think about the people that you're betraying...! Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-taichou, Baa-chan, Ino, everyone! You're betraying our friends! The people who we fight with! Who aid us to achieve our goal! You're going to break their trust for you!"_

_"Would you shut up, already?!" she yelled, making Naruto stop from speaking anymore. "I've made my mind already! Nothing is going to change that! Everyone from the village... They're just tools to help me get to Sasuke-kun! Everyone is a tool! Even you, Naruto!" From what she is saying, it sounded like she was breaking apart. Naruto could see how shaking she is about it. "I loved Sasuke-kun...! No matter what, I will follow him to the end...! I only care less about you, Naruto...! You're nothing, but a... a... useless idiot!" Then, she finally turned her head around to look at Naruto. He could see that her eyes are filled with tears, tears that express the uneasiness of what she will lose. "If you ever try to bring us back again... I... I will never... forgive you, Naruto..."_

_"... Sakura-chan..." He could probably tell of how she felt about this, and how she would cope it out afterwards. Then, he could feel that his consciousness is fading away, from the effects of the paralysis. It was useless. He couldn't do anything about it. He lost Sasuke... and now, he was going to lose Sakura as well. "Please... don't...!"_

_"Goodbye... Naruto-kun..." And so, she jumped away from the are, to rejoin Sasuke._

_All that is left is Karin, who stood there when the last conversation between him and Sakura was made. She was feeling sorry for him, and she was feeling awful of how she ended up in that situation. All she wanted was to aid Sasuke... But now, after Sasuke impaled her to kill Danzou, which she was lucky since Sakura came to heal her, she wasn't sure which side she will stand for. But after she saw what become of Sasuke... She walked over to Naruto and attempted to pick him up. "Come on..." she said. "Let's get you back to your home village... I'll take you there..." But his weight wasn't good enough for her to pick him up easily._

_Naruto just lie there, unable to cope out what happened now. Sasuke and Sakura... They left him for something sinister and dark. But Sakura's decision... was something that she would feel awful about it. Once again, Naruto was useless. He couldn't save Sasuke again... And he couldn't save Sakura too..._

_"SAKURA!!!!!!"_

_End flashback_

Everything happened so quickly... And it was too much for him to handle. Both his closest friends left him to join the darkness. The darkness where everything started. The Promise of the Lifetime... was broken. It was broken at the time she joined Sasuke. His closest friends... gone from his heart. "... I don't know what to do... I don't know what else to do about it...!" he said to the memorial stone, trying to speak out to his father, the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. He looked down at the ground, gritting his teeth out of frustration. "Sasuke and Sakura... They're my closest friends... They're the one who helped me from my lonelyness... And now, they're gone... And I'm all alone again... What should I do now? What should I do... dad...?"

He wasn't getting any reply from his father. It was of no help to speak out help to a memorial stone. But he needed some help, some advice on how he should do. Then, a hand was laid onto one of his shoulders, which caught him by surprise. He turned around to see the lazy Chuunin of the leaf. "Shikamaru..."

"Naruto..." Shikamaru said, trying to say something that wouldn't make him frustrated some more. "I... heard about what happened back there... I'm sorry, Naruto..." Naruto didn't say anything. He remained speechless and unable to say anything to return it. "... The news came from the rest of us... We couldn't believe that Sakura had done that... I thought that she was going to face him to kill him, but... never have I thought that she would join him like that..."

"... Yeah... Me... neither..."

"... If it helps you forget about it, Kakashi-sensei... I mean, Hokage-sama wants to see us in his tent." That's right. It was all decided by the four Kages that Kakashi would take the position of Hokage, after they deemed Danzou to be untrusted. Since Tsunade was still in coma, Kakashi had no other choice, but to take the position.

Naruto slightly nodded. "Yeah... I guess..." And so, the two of them went off to the tent, where Kakashi awaits them.

----------

As the two of them entered the tent of the Hokage, they saw the silver-haired, masked Hokage standing there, waiting for them at last. Accompany him was the young, black-haired lady who was Tsunade's assistant, Shizune. And standing in front of them are two ladies. One of them is the long, raven hair Hyuuga who had a crush on Naruto, which he knew a little while back. "Hinata..." said Naruto.

Hinata looked back to see Naruto and Shikamaru, who had just entered the tent. "Naruto-kun... Shikamaru..." she said.

The other one next to her is someone that both Naruto and Shikamaru didn't expect to see her here. "Hey, hold on a sec." said Shikamaru, upon recognizing her. "Aren't you that girl who volunteered herself to be arrested? The one who helped Sasuke out?"

Karin didn't say anything. She was still feeling ashamed of what she did in the past, and she wanted to give herself in to the authority. However, someone declined that and made her what she is right there. "She was. But then, I decided that she could help us out from now on." said Kakashi, who took the time to explain it instead of her.

"But how come?"

"Well, since she was feeling bad about helping out someone who a dark motivation, I decided to make her one of us, a Konoha nin."

"Wait, what about the Council? Did they agree to this?"

"They would decline it, but ever since Tsunade's outburst to them, they began to accept anything that is useful for us. So, there's no trouble with that there. But enough talk. Let's talk about what we have in store for the four of you." Kakashi said, as he pulled out a scroll from his pouch and unrolled it, revealing the information inside. "Since we need more money to help rebuild Konoha, we decided to send out teams to accomplish missions. What you are going to do is a C-rank mission."

"A C-rank..." said Hinata quietly.

"This is what you are going to do. Someone had sent a report about a mysterious girl who keeps wandering in the streets, looking rather clueless of where she is going. To him, it looked rather suspicious, but he was afraid that she might be in touch with one of the rumors spreading in his village."

This time, Shizune took the opertunity to speak out the rest of information. "Rumors has it that a ghost girl was seen wandering around the terrains for no reason. Once someone is closer to her, he suddenly vanished. And a few days later, everyone found that missing person hanging on the tallest tree of the area, dead. If that girl that man was seeing was the ghost girl, then she might be dangerous."

"Oh, so it's some sort of an investigation, huh?" Shikamaru said, smirking slightly as he remembered what happened to Naruto the last time he took a mission about ghosts. "I guess we can take it... If only Naruto is not so afraid of that rumor, right?" he said, as he playfully elbowed Naruto to the side.

But Naruto showed no expression on his face. "Yeah, I guess..." he said, which suddenly turned the atmosphere a little darker than usual. Both Shikamaru and Kakashi sighed a little, while the rest of the girls only looked at him sadly.

"Anyways," said Kakashi. "That's all the information that we got for you there. And remember. You are all Chuunins... Well, with the exception of Naruto and Karin, but they are at a Chuunin level, at least. And a C-rank mission will be easy for you. But stay sharp, because we don't know what might happen during that mission. So I'm counting on you to finish the job. Understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" said Shikamaru and Hinata.

"Mhmm." Karin simply said.

"... Yeah..." Naruto said.

"Good. Now move out!"

----------

It was only a few while since the four ninjas went off for their mission. In order to begin it perfectly, they have to meet up with the client back in the small village of Mitsuga. Normally, in a ghost mission, Naruto would be afraid of that, and tried his best to get away from it as soon as possible. But right now, he wasn't feeling up for it, because of the events that happened a few days ago. No mission will make him forget about it. And he had hope that this one would make him forget it.

"Our client is Tomoe Kagekiri." said Shikamaru, upong reading the name of the client and his description in the scroll that he was holding. "It says here that he's selling weapons for his village, but only in a high price. Since then, he almost had no sellson his weapons because it was too expensive. But he's too stubborn to decrease the price, for some reason." After reading what their client is, he sighed. "How troublesome..." he said, before he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from one of his pouchs and pulled out one of them, before putting it between his lips and light it with a match. A homage to his sensei, Asuma. "If this guy turns out to be a complete waste of time, then it's really a troublesome mission..."

"But what if... what if it's really true?" asked Hinata. "Our client can be honest with us... And that ghost girl rumor has to be right, since... he needed our help with it."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't bet on that, I guess... But still, it's really troublesome, if it turns out that he's a prick of some sort..."

"Well, we... have to try it. We wouldn't know if... if we try."

As Shikamaru and Hinata started out the conversation of whethever or not that their client is a waste or in need of a real help, both Naruto and Karin walked behind them, not a single word that is spoke from either of them. They were as quiet as a pair of fish. After a while, Shikamaru and Hinata noticed the two of them not saying a single word. So they decided to speak out for them. "Hey, Naruto..." said Shikamaru. "About Sasuke and Sakura... What are you going to do now?"

"... I don't know, Shikamaru... I just don't know what..." Naruto simply said, still unsure of what to do about it.

As Shikamaru asked Naruto, Hinata then decided to ask Karin about something too. "Karin... Do you really want to help us? You did volunteered... to arrest yourself for helping Sasuke..." Hinata received no common answer from her. Karin just stayed quiet from that. "Then... Can you tell me why... were you helping Sasuke? Is there... Is there a reason for you to join him and... help him out?" Still, she received no word from the ex-member of Team Hawk.

Shikamaru listened to the conversation and sighed, as it wouldn't help them get any comforting words for her. "It doesn't look like she wants to talk about it, Hinata. So lay it off for a while until she wants to talk about something." he said.

However, Karin stopped walking for the moment, making the others stopped suit. "... Sasuke..." she said. "... He was someone that I looked up to... Someone that I wanted to return the favor with... But now, the Sasuke I know... is no longer there, compared to the Sasuke that I have saw before... He was changing... He was changing for the worst..."

"Then do you mind telling us why you joined him?"

"... I joined Sasuke... because I wanted to return the favor back three years ago..."

At last, Naruto looked at her with a hint of concern on his face. "Three years ago?"

"Yeah... That was the time that we were in the Chuunin exam... I was one of the participants of the exam... And the one who failed to complete it..."

"So..." stated Shikamaru. "You're saying that Sasuke save you from someone?"

"Well... More or less... He saved me from being killed by that monster that lives inside of the Forest of Death... But he actually came for the scroll that I have. But it turned out to be an Earth scroll, the one that he already had, probably..."

"So, when you saw him next, you wanted to join him in order to return the favor, to save him, right?"

Karin nodded. "Of course... But..." She then looked down at the ground, the feeling of regret rising in her heart. "... What was I thinking...?! Sasuke changed... He changed all because he learned something from that damn...! Because of this... Because of this, he... he...!"

"... He wants to destroy Konoha... right?" Naruto finished for her.

She nodded once more. "I followed him all the way so he can kill his brother... And I followed him again when we joined the Akatsuki... I always admired him...! I always did! But then..." Now, her body was shaking, shaking in sadness of the decision that she had mistakingly made. "... When I was held hostage... When I was about to be killed, if he ever did something... He instead... impaled me...!" By then, she kneed down to the ground, unable to withstand the shaking feeling that resides in her heart. She was sobbing, breaking apart because of what she did for Sasuke... And what Sasuke did in return. "I'm so... so stupid...! The Sasuke I know... is gone...! The Sasuke right now... is even worst than... than Orochimaru...! And I followed him, all the way until he tried to kill me...!"

Hinata kneed down next to her, trying to comfort her with soothing words that would make her stop feeling bad about herself. "But... You're still alive, right? That's what matters to you, right?"

"... True..." she said, unable to stop herself from sobbing. "But it wouldn't change the fact... that I helped him become what he is... right now... It's my fault... if I had stop him from... going to that path, none of this... would have happened...!"

This time, Naruto also kneed down to try and comfort him, acknowledging her regret and betrayal. "Hey... It's alright..." he said, with a small smile. "You didn't know that he would become like this... That he would become a part of the darkness..." He laid his hand on her shoulder, so that he can calm her down from the breakdown. "It's not your fault... None of this would have happen, if Sasuke hadn't been gone to that path... You tried your best..."

Karin looked up to him, with her eyes visibly red from the tears that spilled from it and down to her face. "... I'm sorry... Naruto..." she said. "I should have stop him for you... And I should have stop that... girl from joining him... I didn't know how much you felt about it..."

"Hey, it's no biggie." he said, grinning. "You don't have to worry about that. After all, I'm going to bring them back."

Shikamaru eyed at him. "Hey, what happened to "I'm not sure about it", Naruto? You made up your mind?"

Naruto looked at Shikamaru with one of his trademark grin. "Of course. After hearing her story about it, I've been thinking about it... Sasuke and Sakura may have betrayed us... But still, I'm going to bring them back, no matter what. I'm not gonna let that feeling get the best of me. I'm going all the way to the end!"

"But... Naruto..." said Karin. "Didn't you heard what that girl said before...? If you ever try to bring them back.. She'll never forgive you..."

"That may be true... But... Even if she said it, I'm still going to keep my promise. Even if it's broken, then I'll bring it back anew! I promise to bring back both Sasuke and Sakura!"

After hearing his words of confidence, Karin smiled slightly, admiring his courage. He pulled her glasses off from her face and wiped the tears from her eyes, before putting them back on. "... You're... great, Naruto..."

Following suit, Hinata smiled at Naruto's new found confidence. She was sure that he would cope it out sooner or later. And she was glad that she wasn't mistaken. "Naruto-kun..."

Shikamaru smirked. After a few days, Naruto finally stood up for himself and deal with it no matter what. Even though he agreed that they would kill Sasuke, he wished that Naruto would bring Sasuke back before everyone knew it. But right now, he realized that they are wasting time from their mission, so they had to get back for it. "Alright, you dumbass. You got your confidence back. Now let's test it out with that troublesome mission that we are dealing with."

Naruto grinned once more. "Alright! Let's get to it!" he said, as he stood up from the ground and proceed on walking down the road. Hinata and Karin followed him next. "Uh... by the way..." began Naruto. "What's the mission about again?"

"I knew you would bound to forget it sooner or later, Naruto..." said Shikamaru. "But I'll give you a hint. It involves ghosts."

"G-G... GHOSTS?!?! AAAAAAAHHH!!!"

----------

"Ah! So you are the Konoha nins, huh? Took you long enough!" said the client of the mission, the owner of the weapon shop, Tomoe Kagekiri. "I've been waiting for a DAY for you guys to come and check it out! A FULL DAY!!! You don't know how much I have suffered waiting for you guys here! Are you guys lazy around here?! Is it because Konoha is lazy on giving out missions?! What is wrong with you people?! Too tired to do a simple mission like that?! HAH! Should have expected it from ninjas like you!"

Damn... It's been only a minute and ALREADY, he's being annoying. The four Konoha nins could only sighed at his useless complains. "Just tell us where you found that girl..." said Shikamaru, becoming annoyed that he already puffed out a cigarette to relieve himself from being annoyed.

"Oh right, right, right! The ghost girl! Well, first, you have to take the East of the village! And I mean VILLAGE East, as in, the East from the front entrance of the village! There, you can go through the forest where the ghost girl is seen there. Which forest? Why, the forest of the EAST, of course! It's not that hard to find, you know, if you have some brains that work! And you can't miss out on that girl! Sure, she appears in the night, but this is a coincidence! If you find her in the day, bring her here and I will give her some swatting to do! Oh, did you miss out on something? Well, like I said, first, you have to-"

"Oh, would you just SHUT THE HELL UP, you RETARDED BLABBER MOUTH?!?!" yelled Karin, her irritation getting the best of her.

"Look, we know where she is. You said so on the report that you sent to the village, dumbass." said Shikamaru, taking another puff to relieve himself.

"Ok, ok, I get ya! And when you're done with that, I'm gonna give you... Uh... Let's see... 300 ryos!"

"Wait, I thought we agreed that it would be a 1000 ryos?" said Naruto, getting annoyed of that.

"Well, maybe they should negociate me some more! I don't want a 1000. I want 300! You know I love money that much, do you?"

"Well, whatever! It's still a 1000 ryos, man!"

"Like I said! Negociations, kid! NEGOCIATIONS, YOU FREAKEN IDIOT!!!"

"Why you son of a...!" Naruto was THIS close to kill that retarded client, but fortunately, he stayed cool... But still irritated.

Shikamaru sighed. "Let's go, guys. We're not gonna waste our time with that troublesome client." he said. Everyone agreed and they proceed to begin the mission, in the East of the village and into the forest... Just like what the guy said, but only in simply words.

"And when you guys are done with it, I'll give you... ONE ryo!"

"Only one?!" Karin said, as she turned around to look at the client one more time. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me, you son of a...!" Hinata was just in time to pull Karin out of the shop, trying to make her calm down from it.

----------

"Man... That guy is totally a dumbass...!" said Naruto, as he sighed of relief to have finally got out of the shop and into the forest where the ghost girl is. The others nodded in agreement. "He never shuts up about something we already know and everything he opened his mouth, it's like being bombarded by thousands of crap that talk crap like that guy!"

"Ok, uh... Let's not talk about that, Naruto..." Shikamaru said, shuddering at the thought of talking craps raining down on Earth.

"A ghost girl wandering in the middle of the day? That kinda defeats the whole purpose of having ghosts as one of the creatures of the night and some stuff like that." said Karin, wondering why there are ghost in the day, and not in the night.

"M... Maybe she's lonely... And she might... have a reason why she kills people mysteriously..." said Hinata, believing that the ghost girl is a gentle spirit, and had a reason for the rumors about the mysterious murder. "If... If we try reasoning with her, we might calm her... spirit..."

"Well, who knows if she's really a ghost." Shikamaru said. "She might be someone who got lost and spend her life wandering around, searching for a way back home. You know what rumors do. They'll get wrong everytime."

"Hah! Well, no problem!" said Naruto, as he stopped there from walking, which made everyone stop as well. "Ghost or not, I'll take care of that! Nothing is gonna stop me from getting in my way!"

"I thought you're scared of ghosts, Naruto." said Shikamaru, getting suspicious... But only slightly.

"Well, of course not! Ghosts aren't a big threat to me! I'll take them on no problem!"

"Then why are your legs shaking, then?" he said, pointing at Naruto's legs, which, unlike what he said, are reacting the opposite. They are shaking.

Naruto quickly noticed how much his legs are shaking from facing the ghosts and tried to stop them by placing his hands hard onto them. "Th-th... That's nothing! They're just like that sometimes!"

"Sometimes? I thought it was mostly where you do a mission involving ghosts."

"Well, it's only sometimes!"

"Whatever you say, you scaredy cat." Shikamaru smirked.

Naruto is getting a little annoyed by that remark. "I'm not a scaredy cat, you lazy dumbass!"

Now, Shikamaru was getting a little irritated. "Look who's talking, you knucklehead."

"Lazy bum!"

"Ramen-loving idiot."

"Sleepy dog!"

"Deadlast!"

"Cloud-watching lover!"

"**Oiroke no Jutsu** pervert!"

Naruto gasped dramatically. "You take that back, you... you...! Shogi... player!"

"Ah-hah!" Shikamaru yelled out, pointing at Naruto dramatically. "You can't even come up with a better name!"

"Yeah, so?!"

"So I'm the best around the name-calling game, you toad lover."

Naruto was getting really irritated now, as he gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Why... you...!"

The two other girls couldn't help, but giggle at the constant arguments between the two guys. They deemed it to be something as entertain as something out of a game. But come to think of it... This seemed to be the first time that Karin had ever giggle like this. She was giggling out of joy, and not out of admiration. It was something that she had needed for a long time. "You Konoha nins... really are something." she said, smiling.

But unknown to anyone, there was someone running up to them in a hurry. She seemed to be desperate for some reason, and she didn't look where she is going. She was running straight to the Konoha nins, until she bumped herself into Hinata, causing the both of them falling to the ground with such impact. "Eek!" young lady yelped out.

"Ah!" Hinata yelped out, as she fell to the ground. That got the attention of the others and they looked down at the two.

"Hinata! Are you alright?!" Naruto said, as she began to help Hinata up.

Hinata moaned a little. "Y... Yes... I'm fine, Naruto-kun..." she said, as she looked behind her to see who it is.

The young girl was struggling to get up, after that impact. As she was on all four, she looked up to see four people in front of her. "Wha...? Who...?" she quietly said. From everyone's view, she was a young girl at around the age of 15, much like the others. She had a long brown hair that stops right to her waist and a pair of green emerald eyes. She wears a yellow kimono that looked like that of a priestess. The reason why she bumped onto them was something that they are going to find out.

"Huh? Who are you?" asked Naruto.

"Wait a sec..." stated Karin. "Is she the ghost girl that everyone was talking about? The one who wanders the terrains?"

"If so... Then she's not really a ghost." said Shikamaru.

Naruto sighed of relief to see someone who is definitely not a ghost. As he went over to her, he lend out his hand. "Hey, you ok, miss? Here, I'll lend ya a hand."

The young girl looked up to Naruto, before she slowly reached over to his hand. However, a realization came to her, as she quickly slapped his hand away from her and back away from the others. "No! Stay away!"

"Huh?! What the...?!"

"Hey, what's this girl's problem?" Karin asked, confused on why she slapped Naruto's hand away.

"No! You mustn't come closer!" yelled out the young girl. "You have to get away! Now!"

"Huh? Get... away?" said Hinata, who is confused too.

"They're coming for me...! They found me and they're coming! You mustn't get involve into this!"

"Wait, hold on, young lady." said Shikamaru, attempting to calm her down. "What are you talking about? Who's after you? And why?"

"There's no time!" she quickly said, ignoring Shikamaru's question. "You must get away! Quickly!" But before that would work, she felt a strong shock inside of her heart. She widened her eyes in terror. There was no doubt about it. "They're here..."

"They're... here?" said Naruto, confused as with the rest of them.

"It's too late... They're here!" she said, as she turned around behind her, before four rays of light struck down the ground, its brightness illuminating the entire field, much more than the ray of the sun. Everyone shielded their eyes from the brightness of the rays, except for the young girl.

"Ngh...! What the hell?!" shouted out Naruto.

"What int he world is that?!" shouted Shikamaru.

The young girl could only stare at the rays, gasping in shock and fear. She felt that it was going to be the end of her... And the end of what she was trying to accomplish. "They're here... the visitors...!"

The rays of light was beginning to decrease its length. Inside of the rays... are four mysterious beings with a form of a man, but who looked nothing like a human being. They have green scales all over their body, with their abdomen showing, and their head was some sort of like a motorcycle helmet, but it wasn't an accessory. It was really their head (Think of them as humanoid versions of Aliens). They are all holding something of what it seemed to be a blaster, which has the same skin as the mysterious beings.

As the bright light stopped illuminating, the others uncovered their eyes too look at the four beings in front of them. The Konoha nins are confused. "Wh... What the...?" said Naruto, upon seeing them for the first time.

"What in the world...? Halloween costumes...?" said Karin, believing that those beings are only wearing costumes.

The young girl was afraid. Really afraid. She couldn't imagine anything that might happen with them around. Then, she saw them lift their blaster up to the air, before settling down towards them, pointing the blaster at them. The young girl knew what was going to happen. "Everyone!" she screamed, as she turned around to the others. "TAKE COVER!!!"

At that point, their blaster was fired, shooting out a barrage of green energy balls towards the Konoha nins. Quickly noticing the attack, Naruto and Karin jumped to the side of the road, behind a couple of trees, while Shikamaru grabbed the young girl and they, along with Hinata, jumped to the other side, behind another couple of trees. Fortunately, the energy balls could only give out a simple burnt scratch on the trees, but not for very long.

"What the hell?! Who are those guys?!" shouted Naruto, as he looked at Shikamaru from the other side.

"How am I supposed to know?! Hitmen or something?!" shouted Shikamaru.

"H... Hey, miss...?" asked Hinata to the young girl. "Do you know them..?"

The young girl looked up to Hinata and she only nodded slightly. "They're... We called them the visitors... They came to our land so suddenly... And they destroyed... our land! As well as my father!"

One of the mysterious beings stopped firing and extended his arm to the sky, before it suddenly turned into a blade. Then, he jumped right towards the side where both Naruto and Karin were hiding, and he cut the trees in two, just above the two of them. As the cutted trees was beginning to fall onto the two shinobis, they took notice of it and ran to the side. But not back onto the road. The trees crashed onto the empty ground. "What the...?! What in the world is that?!" he said, as he looked up to the attacking being. The being charged at Naruto, with his blade-formed arm ready to strike. Naruto quickly drew out his kunai and blocked the attack just in time.

"Naruto!" yelled out Karin.

"Don't worry! This guy might be a snap to me!" he said, with a small grin on his face. He lifted his leg up and he kicked the being off of him, before he charged at him next.

"Naruto!" yelled out Shikamaru, as he was about to get out from his hiding spot. But the sight of the energy ball colliding against the front side of the tree made him stopped from going any further. "Damn it...!" he cursed.

"Shikamaru..." said Hinata, who was beginning to worry with every passing seconds that passed. "What... What should we do...?"

Shikamaru was thinking about a strategy that would distract the other beings from firing some more. "Come on... What to do...?" he said to himself. Then, he had an idea. He slipped his hand inside of his pouch and pulled out a couple of flash bombs in his hands. "That will stop them from firing for a while!" he said. But before he throws it, he shouted out to everyone. "Guys, cover your eyes!" He threw the flash bombs just in time for everyone to shield their eyes from what was about to come.

The bombs shined brightly and it blew off, covering the entire area in a bright, illuminating light. All the fired beings stopped firing at the sight of the blind light. They could not fire without having to target someone.

"**Kagemane no Jutsu!**" Shikamaru cried out. After the light was fading the way, the beings could see their targets once more. They were about to fire again, but for some reason, their body could not respond. Instead, they all moved in a position that they did not want to do. And that was the same position as what Shikamaru was doing now. "Possession successful." Shikamaru said, as he smirked while holding himself steady, with the rat handseal.

After Naruto uncovered his eyes once more, he grinned to see the three beings in control by Shikamaru. "Alright, Shikamaru! That will hold them off!" he shouted to him. But now, he has to take care of the fourth one. However, to his surprise, the fourth being wasn't there. "What...? Damn it, where's the fourth guy?!"

That got Shikamaru's attention. He only controlled three beings. And the fourth one was still on the loose. He looked around to see if the fourth was nearby. While he was searching for it, Hinata cried out to him. "Shikamaru! Above you!" He quickly looked up and saw the fourth being in the air, attempting to slash him down with his blade-formed arm. He had no time to move away from the attack. He was vulnerable against it.

But fortunately, before the being could reach him, Karin quickly ran towards the two and jumped towards the being, kicking him full on to the side, sending him flying onto a tree, missing Hinata and the young girl. She landed next to Shikamaru and called out to Hinata. "Hey, Hinata! Take care of that guy!"

Hinata looked at Karin and nodded. "You stay here, alright?" she said the young girl. The young girl nodded and Hinata smiled. Then, she formed a handseal and cried out, "**Byakugan!**" Veines appeared around her eyes, as she went over to the fourth being. Just as it was standing up to the ground, Hinata quickly slammed his palm at him, a wave of energy spreading out at the time where her palm hits. She began to hit it again a couple of times, chest, hip, abdomen, shoulder, another hip and then right back to the chest. The energy of the being was fading from him fast, as he was unable to stand correctly. With a final attack, Hinata searched for her final hit point. "The final blow!" she cried out, as she thrust her palm at the final point, causing the being to collapse to the ground, dead. She smiled. "That's one down..."

The young girl watched as Hinata delivered the final blow to the fourth being, amazed and surprised at the same time. "Could... Is this really happening...?" she said quietly, unable to believe that such a human such as Hinata was able to kill one of the beings.

Suddenly, everyone heard Shikamaru's grunt of struggle. They looked at him and saw that he was having a hard time. "Damn it...! This isn't good...!" he said, struggling to keep his control over the three beings. The three of them were struggling, but not as much as with Shikamaru.

"Hey, what's wrong?!" asked Karin, worried about what might happen next.

"They're... too strong...! I can't... hold them much longer...!" he grunted, before he let out a cry of relief, as the shadows that binded the three beings released them and returned to Shikamaru's shadow. The beings were able to control themselves once more, as they faced the strategic Chuunin.

Naruto joined up with him, with his kunai ready to face against the beings. "Damn it! If that's what you guys want, then I'll give you something to regret about!" he shouted out. Karin was more than ready to face them, as she was going to give them something that would leave a permanent scar on their face.

Hinata soon joined up with them, but not before she told the young girl to stay there again. And so, the four Konoha nins are ready to fight against the three beings. But the young girl doubt that they will grow victorious. "No! You can't win! Fall back!" she plead. However, they weren't going to fall back on anything. They have made their decision.

The three beings lifted their blaster at the shinobis, ready to fire at any cost. But before they can do so, a shining ray of light struck the ground once more, just like last time. But without a series of rays, the area wasn't illuminating as before. The shinobis, as well as the young girl, looked at the ray of light which appeared before them, surprised to see it there. "What the...? Reinforcements...?!" said Naruto, fearing that they are more of them coming.

However, as the ray of light dissipates, it revealed someone who is not the same as the three beings. No green scales, no helmet-like head, it was that of a real human being. The one who stood there was a man, with his back facing the Konoha nins. From their view, he was man with a brown, messed up hair, that stops at his neck. He was wearing a green T-shirt with a brown, sleeveless leather jacket over it. He also wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a pair of brown shoes and brown leather gloves. Attached to one of his leggings was a gun of some sort.

"Oh boy..." said the brown hair man. "Looks like I arrived too late... Or maybe, I arrived just in time." He smirked. One of the mysterious beings move its blaster towards the man, but in a quick speed, the man grabbed his gun and aimed it to the attacking being, firing it before it could fire its own. The bullet hit its head and it was snet flying slightly, before crashing to the ground a feet away. The two remaining beings were alerted, and looked at the man. He smirked once more. "Go ahead. Try and get me." he taunted them.

One of the beings extended its arm to the sky, before it changed into a blade, similar with the fourth one. It attempted to slash the man down vertically, but he sidestepped and threw his leg to its own legs, tripping it to the ground. The other one attempted to punch him, but he quickly grabbed the punch with his free hand and pulled him over behind him, as it landed hard onto the other. The man took a few steps back from the two, as they stood up from the ground. The being with the blade arm ran towards him, attempting to slice him horizontally. But he jumped from the attack and hit his feet onto its shoulders, making another jump a little higher than before. The other being looked up to see him, attempting to shoot him down. But before it knew, he was aiming his gun down at him. "Too slow." he said, before pulling the trigger and taking the being down. He landed right behind the fallen being.

The blade arm one aimed its blaster towards him and fired a dozen of blasts. However, the man dodged all of them with a quick speed, as with each and every blast he dodged, he was one step closer to it. When he did, he kicked the blaster off its hand, and spun to the side to kick it on the chest, sending it back a couple of steps away. After it regained its balance, it charged at him with full force. But he jumped once more. This time, he was nowhere to be seen around it. As it searched desperately for him, it spotted its blaster laying a few feet away from it. He ran towards it to grab possession of it and just as it was about to reach it, it found its forehead pressing against a cold steel. It looked up to see the man standing there, pointing his gun at its head. "... Bang." he said, before pulling the trigger, getting rid of the last of the mysterious beings.

After that was done, he spun his gun around on his finger, before he pushed it back to where it was attached. He sighed of relief, as he looked back at the four Konoha nins and the young girl, revealing his pair of dark blue eyes. He didn't expect much from the reactions that he was getting from all of them, as all have shocking expressions and hanging jaws. He walked towards them, showing no sign of hostility.

Karin was the first one to speak. "Who... Who are you...?"

As he stopped a couple a feet away from them, the man smiled. "My codename... is Lockon Stratos. I've been sent here to save you guys... Well, to save her, technically." he said, as he looked at the young girl, who was surprised to know that he was saving her.

"M... Me? But why?" she asked.

"You know the drill. Those guys are after you because you're the Chosen One, the one who has a mysterious, and yet great power, and must be eliminated at all cost."

After hearing the words "Chosen One", the Konoha nins were shocked so much. "Chosen One?!" they all said at once.

"What...? But how do you know that I'm...?" she began to speak, but suddenly, the same shocking feeling that occured in her heart was felt once more, as her eyes were widened in shock. "No... Not again...!"

Hinata looked at the young Chosen One with a worried expression. "Hey, what's... what's wrong...?"

"Re... reinforcements...!"

"What?! There are more?!" shouted Naruto.

Lockon groaned in irritation. "Damn it... So quickly...?! Then we have no time to lose!" he said, as he ran his hand up to one of his ear, activating an earcom. "Lockon Stratos to the Ptolemaios. Activate the warp beam for me. Hurry!"

_"Roger that." _said a female voice that came from his earcom. _"I'll activate the beam right now."_

In no time, the same ray of light struck the ground once more. Lockon went inside of the beam, before turning around to look at the others. "Get inside! Hurry!" he said, before his body was absorbed into the ray.

"Wait, hold on!" said Naruto, getting more confused by the second. "What the hell is going on around here?!"

"I don't know..." said Shikamaru, who has the same confusion as he is. "But we don't have time! We gotta get in there!" Shikamaru quickly went over to the ray, before his body got absorbed by it too.

Both Hinata and the Chosen One went ahead as well. Next goes to Naruto and Karin. But before they could reach it, Karin suddenly tripped to the ground. "Ah!" she yelped out.

"Karin!" Naruto shouted out, stopping an inch away from the beam. He quickly lend his hand to her, but not before several of beams appeared before them. "Damn it...! Come on!"

As she looked back to see the beams appearing, she quickly grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. However, it was just in time for the mysterious beings to appear, aiming their blaster towards the two. The two remaining shinobis went over to the beam, their body being absorbed into the light, just in time to avoid the barrages of blasts by the blasters. As the ray of light dissipated, the mysterious beings were left standing there. One of them moved its arm up to where the mouth is and spoke up a mysterious language that no one could understand.

_"... I see."_ said a voice coming from the arm of the being, who spoke entirely in english. _"Then we have arrived too late." _The being spoke to the person once more. _"... No. We have no need to go after the Chosen One... For now. We are almost at our primary goal... Come back to base, please." _The being nodded.

_"... And this time... In this fusioned world... We will rule the entire fusion universe..."_

**End prologue**

Phew! That was long. Well, there you have it. The prologue of my X-over fic. Hope you guys like it. If not, then shoot!

Well, anyways, if you guys wanna know which mangas that I'm putting in, then the names at the beginning of the prologue will give you a hint. And if you guys know Lockon Stratos, then the anime that he was in is included as well. But there are still more mangas to add, but I'm unsure which to add, since I don't know some of them. Well, if you guys want me to add a manga that you want it to be include in my fic, then don't hesitate to ask.

Well, there you have it. Ja ne! And review, Kudasai!


	2. Chapter 1: Dark Organization

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

_Flashback_

**Jutsu**

Disclaimer: I do not own the mangas or animes that are in the fic.

**Chapter 1:**

**Dark Organization**

"... I see." said a voice who resides inside of a dark room where the only thing that is visible is that one spot of light showing a stone pedestal right in the middle of it. "Then we have arrived too late." Then, there was another voice that sounded gibberish to everyone's ears. But it seemed that the first voice understood what it was saying. "... No. We have no need to go after the Chosen One... For now. We are almost at our primary goal... Come back to the base, please." Even though the dark corners hid the voice, it could be seen that he was smirking. "... And this time... In this fusioned world... We will rule the entire fusion universe..." And with that, the transmission ended.

"... So they have failed to capture the Chosen, huh?" asked a female voice, who is also hidden in the corners of the dark room. "Should have known that she had some help from outsiders..."

"Hmph... Relax, Rhonda." said yet another male voice who is also hidden in the dark. "That was just pure luck. It won't happen again. And the next time, we will be sure to get the Chosen One as soon as possible. But, I may be wrong, since they showed up just in time."

"Not to worry, Fuhrer. I doubt that those Celestial Beings will be able to guard the Chosen One for long." said the first voice, who seemed to be chuckling. "After all, just the Celestial Beings cannot fend off against us... The Dark Wolves." By that moment, a foot was seen, stepping into the only lighted spot where the pedestal is. The figure was getting closer into the light in order to reveal himself. A short black-haired man with a pair of sinister black eyes. He was wearing a black general coat, with a red shirt and tie underneath it, a pair of black jeans, if they can see what's underneath the bottom of the coat, and a pair of black boots. Attached to the side of his black belt, which was around his jeans, was a broad sword, covered by its crimson sheath. He was smirking rather sinisterly. "If they really think that they have a chance against us, then they are rather foolish into thinking it."

The female voice scoffed. "You do forgot about our last battle against them, right? They had enormous machines destroying nearly all of our space fleet. But thank god that they are no more... For now, at least."

The male voice laughed. "Ah yes... I remembered the time that we eliminated those machines with our last resort. It was nice while it lasted... Now the Celestial Beings are worthless without those machines, and their pilots along with them. Ahh... But alas, I cannot cut through its heavy armor with Suzuka Gongen... It was thristy for blood..."

The black-haired man continued to smirk. He was still feeling the joy of being closer to the Dark Wolves' primary goal. He could feel that they were getting closer and closer to it. "But soon then, it will be the end of those rotten Celestial Beings and those who try to oppose us. This war will be over soon, once we have achieve our goal. The goal... to united the different worlds together."

"You may be right, my lord..." said the female voice, who was beginning to take a step inside of the illuminating spot, revealing her appearance. A woman with long, pink hair that stops right below of her shoulders, and a pair of dark purple eyes. Her clothing was that of what females wear in medieval times, except there was no left sleeve and the skirt was shorter, but the left side was more shorter than the right one, which stops a little above of her knee. The dress was of a mixture of black and brown, with one of the colors on certain parts of it, and the other on the rest. The right sleeve wears a light, white armor solely for the arm. Aside from her dress was a pair of fingerless leather gloves and a pair of leather boots. With a leather belt attached around her waist, there was an European sword attached to the left side of it, whose blade was shorter in lenght. "We are worthless against them in one world. But in an unified one, if we gather the worlds' powerful and dangerous villain together, we may have... No... we certainly have a chance to defeat those who oppose us."

"But, there is only one problem, that might give our enemies an advantage..." said the male voice, who was also beginning to enter the illuminating spot. It was a man with silver hair that stops right where it touches the shoulders. His eyes were ocean blue, and he was wearing a monocle on his left eye. What he is wearing is a black, formal jacket with a white shirt underneath, a pair of black pants and a pair of black shoes. Attached to the side of his hips was a long, sheathed katana, which he may refered it as "Suzuka Gongen" for some reason. "There also existed people with good intentions and powers worthy to face our minions. Now, if I am not mistaken, there were some of them refered in an ancien prophecy written by those... Eclipsia bugs, yes?"

"You're right, Fuhrer. There existed people such as them. And the people that were refered in the prophecy... The minions were able to identify them as we speak." said the black-haired man. He extended his right arm to the side of the pedestal, just above it, and he waved it once over it. Then, the top of the pedestal glew bright blue, and a holographic image was shown above it, showing 8 hidden figures with their face hidden in the dark. "Although the Eclipsia people have found only 8 of them, there existed more that our minions cannot trace them yet. But they were able to track down the 8 people as mentioned in the prophecy. We can now know a clear description of all of them..."

"Hmph..." scoffed Rhonda. "Never thought they actually existed. I thought those Eclipsia trash were talking nonsense..."

"But what they were saying was deemed true, my dear. And those figures confirmed it. As you can see, we can now know who they are, without even worrying about them in the united worlds." As he said it, one of the faces became visible in everyone's eyes. The image shows a boy who is at least at the age of 15, has spiky, blond hair, a pair of sky blue eyes and whiskers on each cheek. He was wearing a forehead protector on his forehead, which shows a leaf symbol on the steel. "One of them is called Uzumaki Naruto, who is known as the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf. An interesting fact about him is that he is born with a demon inside of him..."

"A boy born with a demon... Insteresting." Rhonda said with a smile that could only show its peaceful side, but hid its sinister one behind it.

The image of another's face was shown. This time, it shows a boy a little more older than the last one, with his orange hair just as spiky as the other. He has a pair of brown eyes. Unlike the last one, he doesn't have anything unusual on his face. "The next one is Kurosaki Ichigo, also known as the Substitute Shinigami. It is said that he has the power of both a Shinigami and a monstrous being, but is able to control them as an unified light."

"Hmph... He looks cocky to me, with that face..." said Fuhrer.

A third image was shown as well, showing another boy with short, black hair and a pair of black eyes, whose puppils are at the size of a small marble. He wears a straw hat and seemed to have a stitched scar on the bottom of his left eye. "This one is named Monkey D. Luffy, also known as the Future King of the Pirates. He is a boy who has the ability to be rubber, being able to stretch his body at any case no matter how long. A monstrous ability, if I may say it."

"A rubber man..." said Rhonda.

The next one shows another boy with a blond hair, similar to the first one, except his wasn't really spiky. He has a pair of yellow eyes. Nothing is special about his face, just like the second face. "This boy is Edward Elric, also known as the FullMetal Alchemist. He has the ability to perform alchemy at any place, and his right arm and left leg were replaced with an automail, due to a tragic attempt to revive someone through the forbidden arts..."

"Hmph. Reviving someone from the dead? What useless attempt that is..." Fuhrer smirked.

The fifth shows yet another boy, whose hair is long and silver, with a pair of white dog ears. His eyes were as yellow as the morning sun. "This here is simply called Inuyasha, known as the Half-Demon Boy. A boy who possessed an appearance of a human and a demon. Interesting... A Half-Demon..."

"He looks cute... Cute enough for me to cut off his head." Rhonda let out a small chuckle.

The sixth image shows this time an older man, whose black hair is spiky, but not as spiky as the other two boys, but has long spikes. His eyes were simply black. "This man is Son Goku, known as the Saiyan of Earth. An alien who was raised on Earth to become a savior. His ability is interesting, as he can use energy blasts as one of his attacks."

"Interesting... He is strong. A stronger man's blood is a tasty treat for my Suzuka Gongen..." Fuhrer smirked once more.

The seventh image shows the face of, this time, a young girl, who has a long, crimson hair and a pair of eyes with the same color. "This girl is known as Kuro, the Mototsumitama with the name of Dark. A princess who is a reincarnation of one of the parts of a god. One of her abilities can make her become stronger than normal."

"Hmph... I don't like her. Just the sight of her makes me sick..." said Rhonda.

The last image shows another girl, with a sort of brownish colored platinum hair, with two ponytails. She has a pair of dark green eyes. "And the last one of the refered people of the prophecy is Maka Albarn, also known as the Scythe Technician. Her partner is a boy who can transform himself as a scythe, and their soul can be shared to create a powerful energy strong enough to defeat any kinds of enemies there is."

"A girl who fights with a boy as her weapon... Interesting power, that is..." said Fuhrer.

Rhonda could only smirk. "That's all? Those are the 8 people as mentioned in the prophecy? What a useless prophecy that is. No one looks strong to me. Most of them look like a bunch of kids, waiting for us to slaughter them like insignificant bugs. If they are serious about this, then they were dead wrong..."

"Wait a minute, Rhonda." said Fuhrer, discovering a catch in the 8 of them. "Those people were the first in the prophecy, and those Eclipsia bugs could easily detect people who are strong enough to try and take their position to look out for the world. Meaning that it is possible that those 8 are more than enough to stop us from getting what we want..."

"Fuhrer is right." said the black-haired man, whose smirk was turned into a small frown. "And according to the prophecy, only one of them is proved to be someone that they can trust for the world's protection..."

That got the attention of both Rhonda and Fuhrer. "Wait... You don't mean that one of them is...?" asked Rhonda, who trailed off, and could not believe that it was the case.

"Yes." he replied. "One of them... is the "destined hope"."

"Damn..." cursed Fuhrer silently. "That means one of them is deemed to be the one who will destroy the organization... To bring an end to us once and for all..."

"Do not worry about that much, Fuhrer." he said, smirking once more. "I do not think that the destined hope will awaken soon enough..."

Rhonda looked at him confusingly, but when she understood what he meant, she smirked as well. "Ah yes. That's right. The Chosen One..."

"Indeed. It says that the destined hope could only be awakened when the potential powers of the Chosen one is tapped into the heart of the destined hope. Therefore, our little Chosen One has not reached her potential level yet..."

Rhonda laughed. She laughed at how little of a chance the Chosen had to attempt to achieve that goal. "Of course! The Chosen's feeble powers aren't enough to awaken that pitiful destined hope. She's still just an only child, whose powers are too feeble to grow stronger for a long time. Why did those Eclipsia fools chose her? Who knows... And who cares about them, anyway."

"But still, we do not know how long until the Chosen One can obtain that level of power. So the only way to prevent that to happen is capture her." explained Fuhrer the current situation of how they should do it. "That is why we are here. To destroy Eclipsia... And to stop that child from obtaining what she was chosen to have. But damn it...! Those Celestial Beings bastards got to her first and pulled her away from us...!"

"As I said before, Fuhrer," said the black-haired man. "Do not worry. For now, we are powerless against the Celestial Beings, and their current location, which we cannot hope to find... But very much soon, we will overpower them, and conquer the world as soon as we destroy the prophecy..." He let out a soft chuckle to show his satisfaction of the current situation. Then, inside of the room, a voice was heard. And it was the same voice as one of the mysterious beings that he was speaking with a while ago. "Yes. Speak." he said to the being. The being explained something to him with a series of gibberish, only he and the other two could understand. After hearing what it had to say, he grew out a devilish smirk. "... Then send it to me. Immediately." With that, the transmission ended.

"... So... This is it, hm?" asked Rhonda.

The black-haired man chuckled sinisterly. "... The Orb of Maleficent... is finally complete."

As he said that, a sudden image appeared above the pedestal, slowly taking its shape. It soon showed a large, dark green orb with a stream of energy flying around the inside. Rhonda looked at the orb with an amazed expression. "So this is the Orb of Maleficent that I've heard so much about..."

Fuhrer nodded. "We found the orb somewhere inside of a hollowed abandoned castle underground. It was guarded by a fierce dragon that took out almost all of our army. But we have succeeded on obtaining it. But the case wasn't to obtain the orb."

"Correct." said the black-haired man. "It turned out that the orb was in need of a great power to be fully revitalized. We have no other choice, but to give most of our energy supply to it. That was why we were useless against the Celestial Beings back then. Our power wasn't at full strength at the moment."

"So in exchange of our energy, we grew weaker against our enemies... Interesting orb..." Rhonda said, smiling widely as she fully understood its capabilities. But out of her curiosity, since she still didn't learn what it was really used for, she had an urge to ask him. "But... What is it used for? I never even heard of it until now..."

"It is used to grant our universal wish, my dear." he replied. "Our wish can be granted on every known worlds in the entire universe. But once it was granted, the orb would melt away into nothing for another millenia. Nothing will revert that wish, but the Orb of Maleficent... And it will be at our advantage..."

"Heh heh heh... Trying to explain it makes me excited...!" said Fuhrer, who could only let out a serie of uncontrollable snickering. "Damn it, I can't stop it...! My Suzuka Gongen is thirsty... Thirsty for the blood of countless humans! Wish it! Hurry!"

"Be patient, my good old man... It will be granted soon..." he said. He slowly held the orb with his two hands and lifted it up, looking at it deeply. He smirked widely of satisfaction. "Orb of Maleficent, hear my call..." he chanted. "With your chaotic entrance, which will soon fall... Grant us our desire, oh godly power... Unite the worlds in underfire, in this very hour!!!" With that said, the orb soon glew bright, and the ground was shaking, like an earthquake taking place. Rhonda and Fuhrer felt the tremor and were trying to keep their balance. But the black-haired man was standing still, smirking devilishly. Their wish will soon be granted... And their ambition will soon start.

"In this fusioned world... We will rule the fusion universe..."

**End of chapter**

Hey guys. It's me again. With a new chapter, as you can see here. And... Wow, one review? Well, I didn't expect it to be more, since it's a manga crossover... Um... Sort of. Not really sure, since I only included the mangas that I know really well. If you guys still don't know which mangas I'm talking about (Which is pretty unlikely, though...), here's all of them currently.

Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, DragonBall, FullMetal Alchemist, Inuyasha, KuroKami, Soul Eater, Gundam 00 (Although, this one is more of an anime.).

Also, if you guys wanna know who the main character is, well... Didn't the section pretty much gave it away? Also, for the pairings... Um... Not really sure if there will be one, but hey. A good story wouldn't be good without romance, right? Well, I'll think about it.

Anyways, this chapter doesn't really show what happens to Naruto and the others after they escaped. It only shows the main villains of the story and their plans for world domination. So, nothing special about it, I suppose. Sorry if you guys wanna see Naruto again. I'll make sure that he will be in the next chapter... Well, that's obvious.

Anyways, Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai! ... Kudasai? Kudasai? ONEGAI!!! T-T


	3. Chapter 2: Celestial Beings

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashback_

**Jutsu**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes.

**Chapter 2:**

**Celestial Beings**

_'W.... Where... where am I...?' _thought the young blond Jinchuuriki suddenly. Everything was pure white. He couldn't see anything at all through this illuminating sight. If this keeps up, he'll go blind, eventually.

It felt like a long while since he had been there. The last thing he remembered was that he and the others had met this young girl... And they were attacked by weird guys in green scales... And then, there was this guy who saved them... And then, they were going through that beam of light... And now, he was here. Somewhere in the blinding light. How long has it been since he was there? It felt like an eternity...

However, suddenly, the sight of the light seemed to be disappearing... And instead, it was slowly being replaced by a sight of a small, white room...

When he came to be, he found himself somewhere inside of a white room, where he couldn't really remember it. From the looks of things, the room seemed to be more... technological than the ones he found back then. It was more futuristic, more developed and a little more... complicated in his knowledge.

Then, he remembered the others. He looked around to see if they're around. Relieved, he found them standing next to him. Shikamaru, Hinata, Karin, the young girl... As well as the mysterious man with some kind of a handle that shoots something, he thought. Now that he knows that they are safe with him, he was eager to ask something about that. "Where... Where are we?"

The brown-haired man, named Lockon Stratos, as he had called himself, looked at the young Jinchuuriki and smiled. "You're safe here with us. The enemy won't be able to locate us here, the safe spot."

Shikamaru quickly noticed the single word that he said. "'Us'? You mean, there are others with you?" he asked.

"Of course." said Lockon. "You didn't think that I work alone with the warp beam sending me in and out, did you?" All he received was an exchanged unsure look from the five teenagers. He chuckled slightly. "Well, anyway, to fully answer the question, yes. There are others who helped me out back there. But just not near me. You guys can meet them inside of the control room which isn't that far from us. I'll lead you there."

He was about to move to the door, until someone called him out. "Wait just a second!" said the Chosen One. "W-wait... You still haven't answered my question yet... How do you know that I am the Chosen One? And how did you find me?"

Lockon looked back at the young Chosen and gave her a sweet smile. "Sorry about that. But we'll talk about it later when we get to the main room. Now, just follow me, alright, guys?" he said. Then finally, he leaned in and jumped off from the ground, as he flew straight towards the door.

That left everyone else surprised. "Hey, wait a minute...!" said Karin, who began to adjust her glasses to see if she was seeing right. "Are you... Are you flying?!"

Lockon spun around to look at the others, who wasn't pretty surprised to see them with each a surprised face. "Oh no. I can't fly. That would be pretty unusual for a human like me." he said with a small chuckle escaping from his lips. "Can't you tell that the gravity feels different somehow than back there?"

"Huh... Now that you mention it..." Shikamaru began to wonder... He decided to take a guess about it and started to feel something around him. The gravity seemed... lighter, somehow. And more relaxing as well. Then, he decided to take another guess, as he jumped up and off of the ground. As he could tell, he was floating upward. "So that's it..." he said, as he was able to guess that this kind of phenominal was caused by the decrease of gravity.

Surprised and amazed to see that he could do it as well, the others decided to take it for a spin. As they jumped off to a different direction each, Karin on the left side of the room, Hinata on the right side, the Chosen diagonally to the front and Naruto in the straight front. As they experienced the floating experience through the decreased of gravity, they had mixed feelings. Fear and excitement.

"Whoa...! That's... That's amazing...!" said Karin, as she was floating to the left, until she unexpectedly hit the wall, making her let out a small grunt from the vibration of the collision.

"Ah...! It... it feels... strange...!" said Hinata, as she panicked because she was still going to the right, without a way to move to another direction no matter where she moved. As she was getting closer to the wall, she turned around and laid her hands on it, making her stop moving, luckily. She let out a small sigh of relief.

The Chosen was having a little trouble to adjust herself through the flight of gravity. She continued to move diagonally up without a safe way to stop herself, the same as with Hinata. As she moved closer to the wall, she did the same thing that Hinata did: laying her hands on the wall to stop herself. "Whoa... How... strange, that is..." she said.

But out of all of them, Naruto was experiencing with a rather large difficulty. He couldn't stop himself from moving to the front. All he ever did was waving his arms around, trying to get himself to stop and to change direction. But somehow, he didn't succeed. "Ah! How do I stop myself?!" he yelled, as he was moving towards the door. Lockon noticed him moving closer and closer to him, so he moved to the right to avoid a possible collision with him. But that ended up making Naruto going through the door, as it slid open automatically. He noticed the wall in front of him and he quickly spun around, making his back the sure spot to collide with it. He let out a small groan.

"You ok, kid?" asked Lockon, as he moved through the open doorway.

Naruto looked at him and he let out a small smile, showing that he was fine. "I'm ok. Just a little problem controlling myself, though..."

"Oh good. Well, get used to it, because we're gonna be doing this for a long while, as long as we're in here." he said. Then, he moved himself to the side of the door, where a straight, open line is. It sort of acted like a conveyor belt, but there was a couple of handles attached to it, as they all moved to the front just all the way before the end. Lockong grabbed one of the handles and he was moving to the front, at a speed that is more faster than floating to the front, no matter how hard you move. "Grab on one of the handles. It'll lead to straight to one of the doorways to the front." he said.

The four others exited the room after wards. As they heard what Lockon said, they followed him and grabbed one of the handles each. Naruto was able to adjust himself straight and he followed the others soon after wards. As he was moving forward, he looked around to see the hallway. Everything seemed to be the same as with the other room. And there was another conveyor belt to the other wall, which was moving at the opposite direction than with the belt that he was holding onto. There are other doors, obviously. So to put simply, he thought that it was more like the other hallways back there, except with a more complex design.

They continued to move forward through a couple of halls until, eventually, after going through another doorway, they somehow found themselves inside of a large room, very different than the other rooms they came across. In that one, there was a large variety of machinery with a high technology that the 6 teenagers couldn't really comprehend. There were a few screens, each with a different image and pattern. Also, there was a large screen showing something that really got into Naruto's eyes.

There also existed a chair, one suitable for a captain, it may seemed. Its back was facing towards the group. When the door was being slid open, the one sitting on the chair got alerted and moved up from the seat, before turning around to look at the group. "Oh." said the grown woman with long, dark brown and curly hair and a pair of brown eyes. What she was wearing, unknown to the 5 teenagers, was some sort of a white suit that seemed to be larger than what she really looked like in the inside. She was smiling to see Lockon there, safe and sound. "I see that you came back. And with the Chosen, no less." she said, as she took a look at the young Chosen. Then, she took notice of the rest of the group, in which she was starting to get a little confused. "Hm? You bring some outsiders with you?"

"Yeah, about that..." started Lockon, as he scratched the back of his head in a matter that he was going to explain something that didn't really went with the mission. "... Those 4 kids got somehow involved in all of this. And with all those guys there, I couldn't just leave them there to get killed."

"I see." she said with a soothing smile. "That's good. You did the right decision to bring them here, to escape from the Aerogaters."

The word "Aerogaters" got into Hinata's curiosity. "A... Aerogaters...?" she asked.

The dark brown hair woman looked at her and nodded. "That's right. Those are the beings that you guys faced back there. We called them Aerogaters because they are mysterious beings who are born from a cosmic reaction from a vortex... At least, that's what we have learned so far. We're not sure if that was actually the case."

"Cosmic... reaction... Vortex...?" Karin was trying to understand what that meant, since those words seemed a little too complicated for her to understand. Just to be on the bright side, even Shikamaru wasn't sure what it meant, really.

The woman could only giggle at their cluelessness. "Heh heh. That's alright. It's quite normal for you people to not understand about that. After all, you guys are in a primitive world and time." she said. "Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sumeragi Lee Noriega. I am the Tactical Forecaster of the team. And let me introduce you to the rest of the team in here."

At the right time after she said it, four people stood up from the seat of their occupations, as they all turned to the group. One of them was the first to introduce herself. She was a young lady, at around the same age as the 5 teenagers, with long, pink hair, but much more darker than Sakura's. There were a few strands of hair that fell from the others, with some of them in front of her face. The back of her hair was tied into a ponytail. She had a pair of ocean blue eyes. She wore the same suit as with Sumeragi. "My name is Feldt Grace." she said her name, with a soothing smile. "I'm a programmer, tactical operator and engineer/mechanic of the team. I'm always involve in the operations of the team."

Another girl came up next. She had a long, brown hair with the back of the hair being tied into a ponytail, similar with Feldt's. She also had a pair of yellow eyes. She wore the same suit as with Feldt and Sumeragi. "I'm Christina Sierra! Nice to meet you!" she said, with a large smile and much enthusiasm in her voice. "I'm a hacker/programmer of the team. So you can say that I'm reliable for searching information for most of the operations."

A young man, this time, came into play. He had a short, brown hair and a pair of brown eyes. "Hi. I'm Lichtendahl Tsery. But you can call me Lichty." he said his name in a similar matter as with Feldt. "I pilot the entire ship, so you can say that I'm only someone who can take the team somewhere."

The last, but not least, was a young man with short, black hair and a pair of brown eyes. "And I'm Lasse Aeon. Nice to meet you guys." he said. "I'm a support craft pilot. I help out other pilots as a support in battle."

"And to top it all off..." started Sumeragi. "We are called the Celestial Beings, a fierce group who battles with those who bring madness to our home. And this entire ship here is called the Ptolemaios. Commonly called the Ptolemy."

After the introduction of the team, who called themselves the Celestial Beings, it took some time for the teenagers, minus one, to know all of them. With a slight nod, Shikamaru stepped in to introduce himself this time. "I'm Nara Shikamaru."

"My... My name is Hyuuga Hinata... Pleased to meet you..." said Hinata, as she bowed to the Celestial Beings.

"The name is simply Karin. Nice to meet you guys." said Karin.

"Um... Uh..." started the young Chosen One, who was feeling embarrassed to introduce herself to everyone around her. She hadn't felt this embarrassed since. "My... My name... is... Uh... T-T-Tadahashi... Mika... It is a... p-pleasure... to meet you in this... Um..." The young Chosen, who called herself Mika, was trying to add something to let everyone know that she is a kind girl. But she found none, so she turned her head slightly, blushing.

After receiving a silent response from her, they awaited a certain blond-haired ninja to introduce himself next. But after a while, they received no introduction from him. They all turned to Naruto, who was staring at something that got his eyes amazed. "Naruto?" asked Shikamaru, a little curious of what he was looking. As he followed his gaze, he could see why he was amazed like that. The large screen showed the view of a deep, dark place, with small and numerous lights blinking one by one. "Whoa..." was all that Shikamaru could say.

Naruto slowly moved forward, just until he was next to the chair. He continued to look the deep space for a while longer. "What... What is that...?"

"Oh, that?" said Sumeragi, who joined up with him with a smile. "This is the first time that you saw it, huh?" She received a slow and gently nod. "Well, kid, this here is called space. It's pretty much empty, as what the others would say, but when we explore it a little more, we could see that it is a wonderful place."

"A wonderful... place..."

"Space is pretty empty. But we discovered the beauty behind the emptiness. A beauty that allowed us to continue on exploring it. Space is one of the wonders of the universe, something that most of us wanted to experience it and to see it through our very eyes. It is a peaceful place for us to discover..."

"That's... awesome...!"

"... But..." she started to say it with a sad tone, as her smile turned into a sad frown. "... This is also a place... where numerous of wars occured..."

That got everyone's, from back there, attention. "Wars?" repeated Shikamaru.

"Yes." said Lockon, who took the liberty to explain it. "We're here not because we want to see the beauty of space. We're here because there is a group of terrorists trying to wreck havoc in our universe. You guys know of the Aerogaters. But there is also another group... The Dark Wolves."

"Dark Wolves...?" repeated Hinata, who was getting a little curious.

"Yes. They're a hidden organization who seek to obtain domination of our universe. They're the one who control the Aerogaters. They want domination... But right now, not in our universe, but yours as well."

"What?!" exclaimed Karin.

"Yours, ours, and other universes as well. Because that we, and our allied teams, are overpowering them, they somehow found a way to try and increase their power by something that isn't possible for everything... Uniting our universes together."

"What..? An union... of our universe...?" said Mika, who was beginning to get scared.

"We fought the Dark Wolves for a long time, just to destroy them and keeping them from obtaining the most dangerous ambition yet. But sadly, we have lost so many lives at that time... And we lost two of our best pilots of the team..." With that said, everyone of the Celestial Beings were looking down on that. "Setsuna... And Allelujah... They risked their lives protecting the Ptolemy... And it costed their lives..."

"That's... That's horrible..." said Hinata, who could feel the team's lost for their comrades. The rest of them joined in as well, feeling the same lost as the others.

Just then, the door was slid open, as someone entered the main room, before he took notice of a certain people that he did not recognized. "Hmph. Lockon. Looks like you made it out alive, at least." he said, as he got the attention of everyone in the room.

He had a long, purple hair that stopped right above his shoulders. He had a pair of red eyes, with a pair of glasses on. Unlike most of the team, he wasn't wearing any white suit, just like Lockon. Instead, he was wearing a beige shirt, with a pink coat over it. He also wore a pair of gray pants and a pair of brown shoes. Aside from his girlish appearance, he is definitely a man.

Lockon smirked, as he saw one of his comrades entering there. "Ah, Tieria. There you are. I was wondering where you've gone off to."

The purple-haired man, known as Tieria, slightly scoffed. "That's not important to you. And why is it that not only that you have bring the Chosen One here with us, but as well as four obnoxious kids with us?"

That got Naruto ticked off. "What do you called me, you little...!" He was about to charge at him, until Sumeragi stopped him by holding his shoulders.

"Calm down. He didn't really mean it." she said, trying to calm him down.

Tieria closed his eyes. "But at any case, you must have a reason to bring them all here." he said, as he moved through the group of ninjas and a single Chosen and stopped right next to Sumeragi. "Miss Sumeragi."

"Hm?"

"I received a critical information from Veda."

"What is it?"

"It's about the Earth... It is changing."

That got everyone's attention. "What?!" exclaimed Sumeragi. "... Feldt! Put the Earth on the monitor!"

"Yes, ma'am!" replied Feldt, as she quickly typed in a specific combination of keywords in her station. Then, on the large screen, a small dot has appeared. Then, which each and every frame, the dot enlarged into a blue planet, known as Earth. The ninja gang looked at the image of the Earth with amazed expression.

"So that's what the Earth looks like from there..." said Naruto quietly.

However, what they were seeing was the Earth completely unchanging. Sumeragi looked at Tieria with worried eyes. "Tieria, is the information from Veda really true."

"Look closely." was the purple-haired man's reply.

The Tactical Forecast took another look at the Earth once more. Then, she, as well as the others, noticed something occurring on Earth. The places where the seas are were slowing changing color, from deep ocean blue into bright white. It engulfed the water population, before it began to take the earth population as well, turning brighter and brighter by the second. The next thing they knew, the screen went bright white, blinding the whole room. Everyone covered their eyes from the bright light, waiting until everything was starting to fade. As the bright light dissipated, they all uncovered their eyes to look at the Earth. After seeing it one more time, everyone's eyes were widened.

"What...? What is...?" Sumeragi was trying to say something, but at the sight of that, she was speechless.

The entire Planet Earth... was broken into large pieces. And each of those pieces represented one, two or three territories. But almost none of them looked the same for the Celestial Beings. North America, South America, Europe, most of Asia, Australia... They have been replaced by different continents. Each from a different world.

"... What the hell is this...?" said Lockon. Then, he turned to Tieria for some answers. "Hey, Tieria! Answer me! Why is the Earth broken into pieces?! Don't tell me it's because...!"

Tieria nodded. "I'm afraid so. It seems that the Dark Wolves were able to fully energize the Orb of Maleficent. With that, their wish has been granted... And the worlds have been fusioned into one..."

"... the worlds... fusioned into one...?!" said Shikamaru, who couldn't believe anything from his eyes. Hinata and Karin were both speechless as well, having seen the Earth as it is right now. Naruto was more shocked to see the planet broken into pieces. How could something like that happened to the planet?

"... No..." said the young Chosen quietly. "It's... It's all over..." She then received the attention of all the others, but she ignored it, as she continued to look at the Earth with no hope in her eyes. "It's all over...! The world will end! Everything will end! Everything!" She started to broke up from the intense lost of hope and the vision of the world being crumbled into darkness.

"No." said Sumeragi. "The world will not end. It's not over yet."

"Yes, it is...!"

"No, it's not."

"It is! Can't you see?! The world is going to crumble into darkness! The world is going to be ruled at the hands of a devil! I failed! I failed to accomplish my mission that my father entrusted to me! It's all over! And I failed...! I failed, father...!" She began to sob, as tears fell from her eyes, as drops of it floated into the lighted gravity.

Sumergai sighed a little, then she smiled at the young Chosen, as she flew over to her to comfort her. "No... You didn't fail your mission... You didn't fail it at all... Your mission to bring the heroes of the prophecy together to face the darkness is not wasted..."

Mika, with her eyes still filled with tears, looked at the Tactical Forecaster, wanting to know some answers. "How... How did you know... all of this...? Me being a Chosen... My mission of the prophecy... How did you know...?"

"We know because we stole some of the information from the Dark Wolves." said Feldt, answering Mika's question. "We know all of this because it is essential that we have to find you and bring you here safely, so that the Aerogaters won't get to you."

"Also..." started Sumeragi, who still had her smile to the Chosen. "Your mission was to find the heroes of the prophecy, right? Well, lucky to tell you that you already found one."

That got Mika's attention, as she looked at Sumeragi with her eyes still filled with tears. "W... What...? Who...?"

"It's someone that we unexpectedly run into every now and then. And we're lucky to have him by our side right now, in this very room. Isn't that right..." Sumeragi, before she could finish her sentence, looked back Naruto with a determined smile. "... Jinchuuriki of the Leaf?"

Naruto gasped of shock, by hearing that single name. The other ninjas looked at Sumeragi with confused look, then at Naruto, then back at Sumeragi. "What...? How did you know... that I'm a Jinchuuriki...?" Naruto slowly asked.

"Well... Let's just say that our agents observed you at some point. But don't worry, kid. We don't know who you really are as of now."

"But... Why did you called me the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf...? Why that name...?"

"Because... You're the very reason why this young girl is on a quest to accomplish her mission of the prophecy." Sumeragi said, as she looked back at Mika, who had a very shocked expression on her face.

She couldn't believe it. Could it be true? Could Naruto be someone that she had been looking for to protect the world? Is he really... the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf? "Are you... really... the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf...?" she slowly asked.

Naruto couldn't really say something properly about that, since the word "Jinchuuriki" was something that he didn't want his friends to know... Not yet, anyway. He scratched the back of his head in an embarrassing matter. "I... I guess you can say that I am..."

"... You... You're really..." She still couldn't believe it. She didn't realize that the person that she had first met in the outside world was someone that she has to find. Someone who she needs to protect the world. One of the people who are chosen by the prophecy to save the world. At that moment, she laid one of her hands onto the wall behind her and she pulled herself down to the ground, onto her knees and with her head down in front of them, as well as her hands laying just below the head. It was a bowing position.

"Huh...? What the...?" Naruto was confused by this act. What was she trying to do? Why is she doing it? Something doesn't really add up to him, and he was still confused by that."

"... One of the heroes of the prophecy... The legendary Jinchuuriki of the Leaf... Please, save us!" she plead. "You are one of our last hope...! My people died trying to protect your world...! I don't want to fail my people...! And I need your help, oh great hero!" She lifted her head up to look at him, with her eyes filled with tears of great need. "Save our world from total annihilation!"

"... But... But I...!" He couldn't believe it, this time. He was chosen... to protect the world and saving it? From an organization who deemed to be more powerful than a Hokage? Everything happened too fast for him... And he wasn't even sure if he could get it on with it. Everything is a total mess in his mind. And he couldn't try and do it, could he? "But... I'm... I'm just a Shinobi. A Shinobi from a world where all I ever did was fighting against people who are trying to destroy the peace... I can't... I can't be someone who is trying to protect the world from a group of guys who are way powerful than an S-rank Missing Nin or even a Hokage..."

"But...! You're one of the heroes...! The one that we need...! If you can't help us, then the entire world will be destroyed...!"

"But I... I'm...!" For the first time ever since he was 12, he felt that he wasn't able to defeat a greater enemy such as the Dark Wolves. He defeated Kabuto, he defeated some Akatsuki freak, he even defeated Pain. But now, he felt weak against the Dark Wolves. He couldn't hope to defeat them like that...

"Naruto." He heard Shikamaru calling out his name. He looked at him to see what he was going to say. "You're not thinking about holding back from your Nindo, are you?"

"But... But you heard what Sumeragi-san said! Those Dark Wolves guys sound like they're some sort of a God! A God who can destroy everything! Look what they did to the Planet Earth now!"

"I know." Shikamaru simply said. "But if you hold back from your Nindo, don't you think that doing that won't make you a great Hokage someday?" Naruto didn't say anything about that. "Never once had I seen you holding back from your Nindo, and you went and fight some guys who are stronger than you, but you managed to beat them anyway. And because that you were chosen to protect the world from the Dark Wolves, you think that it is the time to give up? How troublesome... A true Shinobi wouldn't hold back from his Nindo."

"But Shikamaru..."

"S... Shikamaru is right, Naruto-kun..." said Hinata, who got Naruto's attention to her. "Naruto-kun... You're... You're the only one who made me feel like I have to move on... To become stronger just like you... But now... This isn't like you, Naruto-kun... You're trying to hold back from your words, from everything that you had put faith in to overcome the challenges that you have gone through... You're betraying your Nindo, Naruto-kun..."

"Hinata..."

"If you really are trying to betray your Nindo... I would lose my faith in you... Naruto-kun..."

Naruto was speechless. Shikamaru and Hinata were right... He would become a selfish man, if he holds back from his Nindo... But the Dark Wolves... The ones who broke the Earth into pieces... They are really strong. And they could kill Naruto in a flash... Would he try and risk his life for something that he couldn't succeed?

"Hey... Naruto..." This time, Karin stepped in for support. She moved herself towards Naruto and stopped just an inch close. She looked at Naruto deep into his eyes. "... Sasuke told me about you... About how much of a reckless guy you were... He told me that because of your recklessness, you could have died... I thought that it was crazy for you to do that... But he was wrong... And I was wrong too..."

"Karin..."

"We don't know each other so much... But I can tell that this sort of thing scares you... But those other times, you risked your life to fight those guys, right? Why couldn't you do the same with them? Those Dark Wolves?" She received no common word from him. She sighed softly and gave him a soft smile. "Hey... Listen... You have another Nindo other than not holding back from a fight, right?" She still received no common word from him. "You promised to yourself... That you will bring back Sasuke... And bring back Sakura, right?"

"... Sakura..."

"If you hold back from everything that you have went through after all this time... You won't be able to keep your promise... To bring back Sakura from the darkness..."

Naruto widened his eyes. She was right... If he holds back now, Sakura... Sakura will be trapped in the darkness with Sasuke forever. Not only that, but the world will be destroyed, along with Sakura in it. If he holds back... He wouldn't be able to save Sakura now.

What was he fighting for? Was it to become stronger? To become the best ninja of the world? Or was it... to protect something? Or someone? Now that he think about it... Sakura... Throughout the years of trying to bring Sasuke back, was it to make Sakura happy? To protect Sakura.. To protect the people he loved... To protect...

Protect...

_Flashback_

_Three years ago, when Naruto was 12 years old at that time, he was laying on his bed, inside of his apartment, with his usual pyjamas. However, at that night, he wasn't been able to get some sleep, somehow. It was Midnight. And he still couldn't get himself to sleep. Maybe he was eating too much Ramen tonight and his body still couldn't consume it yet. After a long while for not being able to sleep, he decided that it was best to take a short walk around the village, just to tire himself out so he could sleep._

_As he changed into his usual orange jumpsuit, he began his stroll around the village, deciding that it is best to explore it during the absolute night. Obviously, the light of every buildings were turned off just for them to get some good night sleep... Well, except for some of them, which were turned on because of either they were watching a TV marathon of some kind, playing video games for the rest of the night, or something that he didn't really want to think about it, because it was too... "in the heat". Well, all and all, Konoha was having a peaceful dream._

_As he strolled around the village for another while longer, now reaching the training grounds, where he and Team 7 were training on, he found a certain figure standing in front of the three wooden posts. What was someone doing there in the middle of the night? Also, that was where they trained... Could it be one of his teammates? He shrugged and decided to walk over to see who it was._

_To his surprise, Sakura was there. He could easily identify her with her pink hair and red dress. But he wondered what was she doing there in the first place? "Hey, Sakura-chan?" he called her out._

_Sakura turned around to see him, a little surprised. "Oh, Naruto. What are you doing here?"_

_"I'm just taking a small walk around Konoha. What are you doing here so late, Sakura-chan?"_

_"Oh. Well, I just came here to... think about something. It's usual the place where I stop and think about something..." As she said that, she turned back to look at the three posts, her mind wandering through a certain thought in mind._

_Naruto walked over right next to her to know what she was thinking about. "Then... What is it that you're thinking about? Well, if you don't mind telling me, at least..."_

_"... Naruto..." she started to speak._

_"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"_

_"Do you think... that I've grown stronger...?"_

_"Huh? Well, of course you have! Sasuke and I watched you before and you were great! You're a great asset to the team! Why would you think that you're not strong enough?"_

_"Naruto... Just look at you... And look at Sasuke-kun... You two have grown stronger so much, throughout the days that we've been through... I've been trying to catch up with you guys so I can be at the same level as you... But... Now that I think about it... I haven't really gotten stronger... have I?"_

_"... Sakura-chan..."_

_Sakura giggled slightly, at the difference of power between her and her two teammates. "I mean, come on. Look at me. I still look like my old self, even after that determination I had back in the Chuunin Exam... Unlike you guys, I haven't really keeping progress on myself, and I ended up being the same old Sakura as I was.. and am, now..."_

_"Sakura-chan, that's not true. You really are making progress and you really work hard for it." Naruto was trying to comfort her from thinking that she was feeling useless for the team. He didn't want her to feel as if she wasn't essential to the team, and that all she ever did was sitting there, while he, along with Sasuke and Kakashi, did all the work. "You're really strong, and really smart. That's what makes you the smartest Genin of our team. And we depended on you with all the other situations that we-"_

_"If I can't catch up with you..." said Sakura, as she cut off what Naruto was trying to say. "... If I can't become stronger... I will become a burden to you... To Sasuke-kun... To everyone..."_

_"... Sakura-chan..."_

_"If I were to be kidnapped by an enemy... And by any chance that you and Sasuke-kun were trying to save me, only to get distracted by the other enemies... I will certainly die... And that you and Sasuke-kun went through that effort for nothing..."_

_"Sakura-chan, don't say that. I told you, you're really working hard for it. And all that effort won't go to waste."_

_"How do you know about it, if I didn't help you through every situation that you guys were in?!" She literally yelled out at Naruto, as she felt herself even more useless every time Naruto said something about it. "I'm not as strong as you guys! I'm the smartest Genin of the team, and yet, I can't do a damn thing for you guys! Can't you see?! I'm useless to you! I'm useless to everyone! And nothing will change that fact... Nothing will..."_

_"... Sakura-chan..."_

_"... Why did I became a Shinobi in the first place...? Why is that...?" Sakura's voice was starting to crack up, as tears filled her eyes because of the feeling of being useless to everyone. "... Is it to impress... Sasuke-kun...? It is, right...? I became a Shinobi just so I could impress him... But I never realized that I put myself in danger because of that... useless effort... I don't deserve... to be a ninja in the first place... I never do deserve it..."_

_"Sakura-chan..." Naruto could feel the sadness inside of her, of how she wanted Sasuke to notice her after becoming a Shinobi, which was all wasted. He could have blamed Sasuke for that, but... Right now, could he really blame anyone? No... He thought that it was no one's fault. No one at all... Not even Sasuke or Sakura. He really wanted to comfort her from the intense sadness of being useless to everyone. He laid his hand on one of her shoulders, to make her know that he was near her for that. "Sakura-chan... Don't think about that anymore... You really are becoming stronger..." He received no reply from her. "I mean, come on! Can't you see? Well, of course that I've grown stronger, but you really beat me up with just a single punch. That proves that you're stronger than me, Sakura-chan." he said with a grin._

_Sakura slowly looked at Naruto, and when he told him of how she beat him, she let out a small giggle, even through the teary eyes. "Yeah... Yeah, you're right... You really are more of an idiot before..."_

_"Heh heh. Yeah, I guess I am." he said, as he scratched the back of his head. "But Sakura-chan... If you're still feeling useless about yourself... And that you are worried that you won't help us and end up getting killed... Then let's make a promise." As he said that, he pulled out his hand and pulled his pinky out, as he was going to promise something for her. "I promise, that whenever that you are in danger in everything, I will save you and protect you. No matter what, even at the cost of my own life, I will protect you. I swear you on that."_

_Sakura still looked at Naruto, as she thought that he was crazy for him to promise that. She didn't want him to risk his life to protect her. She didn't want him to go through all that effort just so it could be wasted. But if he really wanted to do it for her... "... I was expecting Sasuke-kun to do that for me..."_

_"Oh, right! Because you like him, right?" he said with a chuckle escaping from his lips._

_Sakura didn't do anything, but she continued to speak up. "But... If you're serious about this..." Then, she pulled out her own hand and let her pinky out, as it was entwined with his. "... Then promise me... Alright?"_

_"Of course! I'll never hold back from my word! That is my Nindo, my Ninja Way!"_

_She could only admired his determination. He really cared about her, and he wanted to go through all of that just to protect her. She smiled at him. "Naruto... Thank you..." she said, as she separated her pinky from his. She wiped off the tears that were still in her eyes and gave Naruto a soothing smile. "But just in case that you forgot about it, there's something I want to give you..." she said, as she slid her hand into one of her pockets and pulled out a necklace, with a small emerald stone clinging onto it. She grabbed one of Naruto's hands and pulled it to her, as she fondly placed her hand, with the necklace, on it._

_"Huh? Sakura-chan, what's that?"_

_"It's my necklace... The one thing that I kept to myself just in case that I need to comfort myself... I originally planned to give it to Sasuke-kun as a present, but now that you're here... And that you promised to protect me... It's only right for me to give you my necklace as a reminder of your promise."_

_"Sakura-chan..." He didn't know what to say to her. But if she trusted him to keep his promise, then he certainly will hold on to it. "Thanks... I won't forget that promise. That is my Nindo, Sakura-chan." he said, as he moved his other hand to join up with the others, holding them into a fond embrace._

_Sakura did the same with hers, joining in with the embrace of hands. She smiled widely at Naruto. "Thank you... Naruto..."_

_End flashback_

He remembered... The promise that he had made for Sakura... To protect her from anything that endangers her... And the necklace... The necklace that she gave to him... He still had it. He slid his hand into one of his pockets and pulled out the necklace that Sakura gave to him three years ago, looking at it fondly.

Shikamaru noticed the necklace in his hand and he was beginning to get curious about it. "Hey, Naruto... What's that necklace in your hand?"

"... That necklace... is Sakura-chan's..." Naruto slowly said. "I remembered now... I promised that I will protect her... That I will save her from any danger that might occur to her... I still remembered the promise that I made to Sakura-chan..."

"... Naruto-kun..." whispered Hinata, as she could feel the feeling that Naruto was experiencing at this time.

"... Naruto..." said Karin, who also felt the same feeling for Naruto.

Naruto promised to protect her... But... What happened then? Sakura betrayed Konoha to join Sasuke... But... But is the promise still there? Is the promise still there inside of that very necklace that Sakura gave to him? Sakura... His Sakura-chan... The one who wanted to become stronger to match him and Sasuke... The one who wanted to help them out through their situations... To protect the world... is also to protect his precious Sakura-chan...

But what of the Dark Wolves? The ones who are stronger than a Hokage, an S-rank Missing Nin? The ones who are stronger than even a Sannin... He was going to die if he ever tried to face them. But... If he hold back now, he would break his Nindo... And he will lose the promise that he made Sakura...

A struggle between the toughest decision occurred in his head. To do or not to do... What would he choose? He closed his eyes real tight, trying to decide whenever or not he will do it... Will he? To protect the world, he has to do it for Mika, and for everyone in the universe. And to protect the world... is also to protect...

He had made his decision. He opened his eyes again, revealing them with a fierce determination. "... I'll do it."

Everyone then smiled at his final decision. Mika was the only one who was feeling a large amount of joy inside of her. "R... Really?! You'll do it?!" she said.

Naruto grinned at her. "Of course! I'll do it for the sake of the world! I'm going to protect it and save it from those Dark Wolves bastards! Hah! Trying to dominate the worlds and destroying them?! I'm not gonna let them do it! Because I am one of the heroes of the prophecy! Just as you called me, Mika."

The Chosen was overwhelmed with new hopes. The tears in her eyes fell from them once more, but they were of joy. She bowed down to him one more time, to show her gratitude for him. "Thank you...! Oh great hero...!"

Shikamaru smiled at Naruto's determination. And he was glad that he was able to make up his mind for it. "You really sure about this, Naruto? You're not gonna hold back from your Nindo?"

"Of course not! Because I have a promise to keep... I'm gonna bring back Sasuke... And I'm gonna bring back Sakura too! And not only that... But I promise that I will protect her at the cost of my life! That is my Nindo! My Ninja Way!"

Both Hinata and Karin smiled at him, at his new found determination that he swore that he will keep. Out of all the Celestial Beings in the ship, Sumeragi was the first one to speak up. "Hey, I almost forgot about something... Who are you exactly, Jinchuuriki of the Leaf?" she asked with a smile.

The Jinchuuriki looked at the Tactical Forecaster with his fierce determination in his eyes. "Remember it, 'cause you're gonna hear that name a whole lot!" he said, grinning. "I am Uzumaki Naruto! The Jinchuuriki of the Leaf! And I... am going to be Hokage someday!"

----------

"What... What the hell is that...?!" said a certain orange hair boy, who had his eyes staring shockingly at the sky, which was suddenly turned from sky blue to blood red. It was Sunday, the only day-off from school in Karakura Town, just as with most towns in Japan. He was going to go and hang out with his friends, but when he got outside, the sky suddenly changed. He didn't like the looks of things, because of two things. Skies don't just change color so suddenly. And also, he could feel a chilling and dangerous intent from somewhere from afar, but he couldn't really tell where it was.

Something tells him that that was going t0o be something that he had to deal with. And for that, he needed his friends' help.

"ICHIGOOOOOOO!!!!!" Suddenly, he heard a very familiar and alerting voice from behind. Before he could have time to react, he was suddenly kicked at the back of his head by both feet. He was sent flying just a few foot away, before he crashed and slid onto the solid ground.

He groaned and managed to get himself up on all four, before he looked back at his annoying father. "WHAT THE HELL, DAD?!?! What was that for, you jackass?!"

"You got distracted, Ichigo! You should have seen that coming, if you weren't distracted like that!" said his father, with a disappointing look.

"Why is it that you always ambush me in a wrong time such as this?! Seriously! You're a pain in my ass, dad!" The orange-haired teenager managed to stand up from the ground, dusting himself off from the dirt that got onto his clothes, which were simply one of his every-day shirts, as well as a pair of black jeans.

His father only laughed out loud at his words. "Ah, you'll get used to it! Next time, always be prepared for an upcoming attack, Ichigo!" he said, as he walked up to his son so he could stand next to him. Then, after reaching to him, the father looked up to the sky, noticing the sudden change of color. "Huh? That's strange... How come it turned red all of the sudden? And why that unusual color?"

"... I don't know, dad... I don't know..." whispered the orange-haired teenager. Something bad is going to happen. He was sure of it. If he doesn't do something about it, he didn't know what will be the aftermath.

The father noticed the look in his son's face. Then, he smiled, as he understood what he was going to do about that. With that, he heavily slapped his hand against his son's back, almost making him let out the entire air from his breath. "Well! Looks like you got something to do today! I'm sure it's something important for you!"

The orange-haired son eyed his father strangely, but at least he could tell that he understood the situation that he THOUGHT that his son was going to do. "Huh? Oh, yeah... That's right."

"Ah, don't worry about us! I'll take care of your sisters real nicely! You can come back anytime you want! But just not too late, alright?" The father received a convincing nod from his son. He grinned and slapped his back again. "Well! I'm off! Good luck today, Ichigo!" he said, before he turned around and set off to somewhere that the son didn't really know where.

He sighed gently, as the sight of his father was gone. With that out of the way, he was about to get ready for something he had to do, until a certain voice arrived. "Ichigo." He turned to see a friend of his, who was standing next to his house. A young lady with dark hair, and a pair of purplish eyes. She wore a black hakama and had a katana sheathed onto the side of her hip.

"Rukia." he called out her name.

"Did you feel it? The strong, and yet dangerous energy coming from somewhere?" she asked.

"Yeah... This doesn't look good. We have to check it out."

"Ichigo." started the young lady. "The one that we are facing... He might be powerful and dangerous, by the looks of things. Maybe even more dangerous than Aizen. Are you sure that you still want to check out?"

The orange-haired teenager nodded. "Yes. And if I don't do something about it... Something bad is going to happen... And I can't let that from happening!"

The young lady nodded in confirmation. "Alright. Change yourself into Shinigami form and we'll get going."

"Alright. But hold on. I'm waiting for a certain dumbass to come from up here. Which will be right about..."

He trailed off, as another voice came from above. "ICHIGO!!! YOU BASTARD!!!"

"... Now." he said, as he easily catched the head of a certain lion plushie in his hand. He moved it in front of him to look at him. "Right on time, Kon. I need you to take care of my family while I'm gone."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the lion plushie. "You're going away AGAIN?!?! First, you locked me up inside of your drawer for a week and now, you're LEAVING?!?! And with Nee-san too?!?!"

"Ok, enough talk. Let's take that Soul candy out of you." said the orange-haired teenager, as he put his hand inside of the stuffed lion's mouth, regardless of how the lion was against it. But even so, he managed to pull out a certain orb from it. The lion plushie was now lifeless. "Alright, here we go!" he said, as he put the candy in his mouth and swallowed it, before suddenly, he was being separated from his body. The form that he was in now was of a Shinigami. He wore the same black hakama as with the young lady, and on his back was a large sword, with no hilt. He turned to look at his body, which was controled by the plushie's soul. "Ok, one last warning. If you ever try anything weird and disgusting with my family and friends, I'm gonna RIP the stuffing out of you, when I get back!"

"Aw come on!" whined the soul of the lion plushie inside of the body. "Name one time that I did something wrong with them!" The orange-haired Shinigami decided to ignore that and jumped off to his way. Then, the lion looked at the young lady, with a cute and cudely face that... In his case... Didn't really dig the girls. "Nee-saaaaan! When you come back, I'm gonna give you a BIG hug! And something even more after that!"

The young lady could only let out a disgusted face, and a sweatdrop falling on the back of her head. "Yeah... Whatever." she said, before she jumped off to join up with the orange-haired Shinigami. As the two of them jumped from building to building, just until they got outside of the town, the young lady asked him one last question. "Are you sure about this? This looks like it's gonna be a long and tough battle."

The orange-haired Shinigami could only smirked. "I've been in worst situations before... And I'm not gonna let a bastard like that guy to try and do something that will piss me off!"

This Shinigami... is known as Kurosaki Ichigo. The Substitute Shinigami.

----------

"Whoa! That's weird!" exclaimed a young, black-haired boy, who stared in amaze of something that is completely out of the ordinary. There are currently two things. One: The sky turned from blue to red, for some reason. And two: the destination that they were going for... wasn't there anymore in his sights.

"Luffy, what are you shouting for?" said a female voice that came from behind the boy. He turned to see one of his nakama walking to join him on the bow. She had orange hair and a pair of brown eyes. Her clothes were like those that a civilian can wear... Well, certain civilians, maybe. To the crew, she was the navigator. She was yawning a little, showing that she had just woke up from her slumber. "It's still an early morning, Luffy... Couldn't you just give it a rest?"

The black-haired boy grinned at the awakened navigator. "Hah hah! Sorry about that, Nami! But I was going to call everyone out, that we've found land! But suddenly, it just vanished into thin air, like magic!"

"What?" The navigator was starting to get annoyed at her captain's childless rambling. "That's not possible. If it's not there, it's not there. Stop imagining things, Luffy."

"But it's true! I saw it with my own eyes! And if you don't believe me, then look up there!" he shouted, as he pointed up to the sky, showing it to his navigator. "What about the sky? It suddenly turned red all of the sudden!"

This time, unlike his ramble about an island vanishing into thin air, at the sight of the unusual color of the sky, she was beginning to get a certain doubt about it. "The sky... turned red?" she said, unable to believe what she was seeing. "But it's the morning... And the sky doesn't have a redish color before... Not even in the dawn..."

"Now do you believe me, Nami!" he said, with his grin still on his face.

"Hm... I think you may be on to something... But I can't put my mind on it..." she said, as she began to think about the sudden color change of the sky, and the island vanishing from the view of the ship. Something was wrong with that... And if that was true, then maybe... "Ngh... Damn it, I can't lay a finger on it..." she said, as she let out a defeated sigh. "Let's just keep on sailing. We'll bound to find land sooner or later, alright, Luffy?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." he simply said. The navigator turned to go back to the docks, while the captain still continued to look at the front of the bow. Something big is coming... And he felt like there's going to be a new adventure for him and his crew. It wasn't possible, but he could feel it. "Hey, Nami?"

"Yeah?" she replied, as she turned her head back to him.

The grin on his face enlarged more, as a new feeling of adventure was coming. "It feels like we're sailing in a new adventure!"

That boy was known as... Monkey D. Luffy. The Future King of the Pirates.

----------

"... Big Brother?" asked suddenly a voice, coming from inside of a large set of armors, which was standing next to a shorter boy, as it looked up to the sky to see the unusual change of color of the sky.

"Yeah... I heard ya, Al." replied the short boy, who had a long, blond hair, with the back of his head being tied into a ponytail, and a pair of yellow eyes. He was wearing a black shirt, with a red jacket over it, a pair of black jeans and a pair of black shoes. "I don't like the looks of that too. Feels kinda fishy."

"What... What do you think that is, Big Brother?" asked the armor once more. He feared something bad was going to happen soon, and he was hoping that it wasn't the case.

But to the young boy, it was definitely the case. Something big was going to happen... And something bad was going to occur in the world, to his knowledge. "I'd say... A big trouble is going to happen soon."

"Then... What should we do...?"

"Isn't it obvious, Al?" he said, as he looked at the armor with a grin. "We're gonna check it out for ourselves. If someone is going to do something bad to our home, then we'll kick his ass! That's the kind of thing we usual do to bastards like him!"

"Are you... sure about this, brother?"

"What are ya scared of, Al?" The young boy playfully punched the arm armor of his "brother". "We faced a lot back then. And that guy is the same as the others. Even with the Philosopher's Stone, we'll eventually beat him. So no worries in that, Al! We can beat him!"

"I... I guess you're right, Big Brother..."

"Now come on! Let's go and check out what's really going on! And once we found the guy responsible for that, we'll kick his ass real hard that he's going to beg for us to stop!" he said, as he began to run towards the road that he and his brother were currently walking through.

"R... Right!" said the armor, as it joined its brother in his sprints. Something big was going to happen... And both the Elric Brothers are going to find out who's responsible for that and lead him to justice.

That young boy, not to be confused with the armor, is known as Edward Elric. The FullMetal Alchemist.

----------

"This smell... This annoying smell... It reeks of demons..." said the long, white hair boy with a pair of dog ears. A phenomenon occured in that world, as the sky turned from blue to red, the color that ressembled the color of a hot blood. Also, with his sensitive nose, he could tell that when the red sky appeared, numerous scents of several demons appeared anew. And it was bothering him a whole lot, as he thought that a large hoard of demons would come and attack the numerous village of the world.

"Inuyasha!" He heard a certain female voice calling out to him. He turned to see a young lady with long, black hair and a pair of brown eyes. What she was wearing something oddly strange, the first time that he saw her, but after he spent some time in the other world, her home, he could say that it was a school uniform. As she stopped at a feet away from the boy, she had a terrified look. "Inuyasha... The sky is all red... And I have a feeling that something is going to happen...!"

"Yeah, I know." he said, before he looked back to where he was looking at back then. "The air reeks of demon smell... A lot of them, actually. But I can't tell where those scents are. They're all over the place, but there's no sight of a single demon around there."

"I have a bad feeling about this..." said the young school girl. "Inuyasha. We have to go and find out who's responsible for this. I have a feeling that everyone is going to get hurt soon... And if we don't stop him, I can't even imagine the worst thing thats going to happen!"

"I know. That's why we're going to hunt down that bastard. Kagome! Let's gather eevryone around and we'll get going to find the one who is causing that problem! So let's go!"

The school girl nodded in confirmation. "Right! Let's get going, Inuyasha!" she said, as she went off to get the others, with the boy following her soon afterwards.

This boy is known as Inuyasha. The Half-Demon Boy.

----------

Somewhere outside of the Earth's atmosphere, only a single man flew outside of it to see what was happening with the entire Planet. "What in the...? The Earth... It's broken into pieces!" said the man with a black, spiky hair, who wore his usual orange atire. After seeing the sky turning red all of the sudden, while he was training hard to increase his power and fighting skills, he was beginning to get suspicious about it and went to see what happened. And there he was, looking at the Earth being torned apart from its original form.

Who could have done this? What kind of terror had occured to the planet? This is something that he had to find out. If possible, he had to find the Dragon Balls. But it was not even nearly a year. And he had to wait for another few months for the Dragon Balls to return into their original state. That was something that he had to fix it himself. "I've got a bad feeling about this... And I have to find out what!" he said, as he quickly dived back into the Earth, as he began his quest to find a way to bring the Earth back into its original form.

That man is known as Son Goku. The Saiyan of Earth.

----------

"Maka." said a white, spiky hair boy, upon seeing the sudden change of color of the sky.

"Yes. I know." replied a young girl with long, brown platinum blond hair, which were tied into two ponytails, and a pair of green eyes. She, along with the white hair boy, had felt a sudden chilling feeling that was more than enough to make a weak person to get all crazy from everything around him. And she couldn't help, but feel a strong soul somewhere... But she couldn't exactly point out the location of it. Maybe the soul wasn't even in Death City. "This is bad... If this keeps up, then something is going to happen in our home. Everyone will eventually get hurt..."

"Yeah. That's not cool." said the boy. "We'll have to go see Shinigami-sama about this. Then we'll find out what's causing that weird and disturbing change of atmosphere."

"Right. We have to find out who did it as soon as possible! I can quickly tell that the people in Death City are beginning to experience some kind of an unstable insanity. If we don't get this done, we'll all end up becoming insane..."

"Not until we get this problem solve in no time." the boy said, before he rushed off to a certain school made for weapons and meisters, such as him and the young girl.

She nodded in confirmation. "I wonder if this will disturb our mission to make Soul a Death Scythe... But it's not the time for that. Our world is in danger! I can feel it!" she said, as she rushed off to join up with her partner.

That young girl is known as Maka Albarn. The Scythe Technician.

----------

Somewhere in the rough plains of a certain area, there lies a young girl with long, crimson hair, and a pair of eyes of the same color, who was walking down the road to who knows where. And when she looked up to the sky, she could see that the color changed so suddenly. The color of the sky in the bright morning... was turning into a color that represented blood. She could already tell that something bad was going to happen to the world...

"Is my brother... responsible for this?" she quietly said. But then, she shook her head. "No... It can't be. My brother would never do something as extreme as this... It must be someone else's doing..." With that said, she was willing to go and find out who's responsible for that. Someone who had done something terrible to the world... cannot be forgiven. As of now, she began to sprint through the road, trying to find the one responsible for the pehnomenon.

That girl is known as Kuro. The Mototsumitama with the name of Dark.

----------

"Temple of... Ifrit?" repeated Naruto at the location that the Chosen had told them to go, as he, along with Shikamaru, Hinata, Karin, Mika, Lockon and Tieria, were in the hallway again and clinging onto the handles of the conveyor belt, as they were going forward back to where the warp room, where they were previously at, was.

"Yes." said Mika. "The Temple of Ifrit is where the great fire spirit, Ifrit, was laying dormant inside. According to the prophecy, the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf must obtain a weapon specifically for him to be able to fulfill the prophecy. And the Temple of Ifrit is where we have to find the weapon."

"So what kind of weapon is that?" asked Karin, curious of what the weapon was.

"I... don't know." she replied. "It is said that the weapon will take its shape when the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf wields it... But I still don't know what it actually means..."

"So in that case," started Lockon. "... We'll have to find out ourselves once we get to the temple, right?" After he said that, he looked back at Tieria, who was moving behind him. "I don't know why you want to be part of this too. Shouldn't one Gundam Meister be enough?"

"I refuse to let a bunch of kids taking this task. It would be too troublesome for me to let go." Tieria said. "The Jinchuuriki of the Leaf is simply a child. And it's only better for me to guide him without making him do something reckless and idiotic."

That comment brung a vein onto Naruto's forehead, as he was beginning to get annoyed by the purple-haired man's inferior trust towards him. "Why that son of a...!" He was about to let go of the handle and ambush him, but he managed to remain calm and went through the briefing.

Lockon chuckled. "Heh. It's so like you, Tieria. Oh, there's the warp room!" he said, as he spotted a certain door that leads to the warp room, with was said onto the door. As they let go of the handles, they floated straight inside of the room and they gently stood onto a large, glass circle, which represented the teleportation device.

Before that could happen now, a static noise was heard inside of the room, and the voice of Sumeragi was heard in an intercom. _"Alright. Can all of you hear me? I know that you guys know about this back there, but I need to make myself clear with a recap." _she said. _"As you may all know, you guys will be warped into the Temple of Ifrit, which we were able to locate it somewhere in one of the Earth's broken pieces. But be careful. Inside of the temple, there existed monsters that you may not have seen before. So take caution of it. Lockon Stratos and Tieria Erde will help you through the temple, so don't worry too much about it. And one last thing... Return safely." _And with that, the transmission ended.

"Alright, everyone!" said Lockon. "We'll soon be transported in the outside of the island. You heard what Miss Sumeragi said. This temple means business. So don't get too distracted while looking around the inside. Alright?" From everyone, he received a nod of confirmation. "Alright! Get ready for this!"

As soon as he said it, the glass circle began to glow, and streams of light appeared around the 5 teenagers and the two men, before the light engulfed them entirely. Their body felt like they were being absorbed into the light, as they began to get transported into a new location.

"Sakura-chan..." said Naruto. "... I promise... that no matter what... I will protect you! That is my Nindo!"

He will keep his promise, for he is Uzumaki Naruto. The Jinchuuriki of the Leaf.

**End of chapter**

Hey, guys. It's me again, with a new chapter. Well, uh... Looks like I just lost it at around the middle of the chapter. And I think everything I wrote down on it were... kinda random and... unoriginal. Could it be my judgement?! Well, anyways, that was how much that I can take. So... I hope it's good.

Well, since the chapter hints a small part of NaruSaku, then... Well, I decided to put it in the Naruto/Sakura section, as it will represent the pairing. But... We won't see much of the pairing, except for flashbacks or maybe thoughful moments. Because everything will be Adventure, I don't know if there will be any romance at all. But let's hope so. And let's hope my brain doesn't melt away from the lost of ideas.

Anyways, that's Chapter 2. I hope that it's good enough to read. Well, Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	4. Chapter 3: A Flaming Challenge

Hey, guys! It's me again. With a brand new chapter! Hah hah! But before I will start it up, I have an announcement to make.

Don't worry. It's not that I'm giving the fanfic up, but I just noticed the error I made... I named the female OC Tadahashi Mika. But in the prologue, her father is Reinhart Beldam. So... I forgot that I already revealed the last name. And I, without knowing, named her in a different name... Oh well. I guess I have to work it out somehow, right?

Anyways, here's the new chapter! Enjoy!

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

**Jutsu**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes.

**Chapter 3:**

**Temple of Ifrit: A Flaming Challenge**

"Ah... So this is the Temple of Ifrit, huh?" said Lockon, smirking at the sight of the large temple in front of the team.

They have arrived to the location of where the Temple of Ifrit is, on one of the Earth's broken pieces and territories. The area is simply a large forest, presumably a lost one, and the temple was rather large, in their view. All made of stone, with small stair cases and a large entrance. Although it was called the Temple of Ifrit, the team didn't really understood why it was called like that, inside of a forest where the climate was fresh. They assumed that it would be in a forest and that the temple would be surrounded with lava or something. But maybe they were making assumptions a little too early.

"That's the Temple of Ifrit? I thought it would be somewhere a little more hotter, like a desert or volcanos or whatever it is." said Karin, who, along with most of the team, got confused with the difference between the area and the name of the temple.

Tieria could only scoff. "You guys were thinking about this too early. A common temple such as this could be anywhere. But a temple involving fire, such as this, it wouldn't be always in a more heated climate." he said, as he began to walk towards the temple.

Naruto was only staring at the temple, thinking about what would happen if they get inside. If what Sumeragi said was true, then that temple could be the place where he had to be at his best. No goofing around and stuff like that. "So this is the place, huh? The Temple of Ifrit..."

Mika nodded in confirmation. "Yes. This is where the weapon of the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf is. A temple with the spirit of the fire God, Ifrit. This place didn't look much of a fire-attribute, but in the prophecy, those who enters the temple will experience a very difficult task for common beginners. A place where fire... is your enemy."

"So, if I may ask..." stated Shikamaru. "Are there exist temples for each heroes of the prophecy? Like the Temple of Ifrit?"

"Yes." Mika nodded. "For each heroes, they will have to go through their individual temple to receive the powers that they were chosen to have. Each of those temples have different attributes. The Temple of Ifrit is a temple of the fire element. While the other temples all have different elements..."

"Meaning different challenges."

"Correct."

Naruto could only grin about it, in front of the challenges that they were about to face. "Hah! No problem! Bring them on! I can take care of them in a snap! Fire or whatever, they're just child's play! I'm all ready to go to take it for a spin!" he shouted out of determination.

"Ah...! But Naruto-kun...!" said Hinata, who was beginning to worry about him, if he ever did something reckless. "E... Even though they are going to... be easy for you, you... should not underestimate the challenges... You'll get hurt recklessly..."

Naruto turned to her and gave her a smile, showing her that he already understood the challenges. "Ah, don't sweat much, Hinata. I'll be careful anyway. But thanks for worrying about me." he said, which he received a soothing smile of relief from her.

Just when Tierie finished climbing up the stairs, he turned back to the others. "What are you all doing? We have no time to talk about something. We have to get this done as quickly as possible." he said, getting a little impatient for waiting on them.

Lockon smirked and shrugged. He quickly joined up with Tieria. "What's the rush? We have all the time we need to get this done. Something that you want to do back to the ship?"

Tieria scoffed a little once more. "Don't be ridiculous. I just don't want to wait for a bunch of kids such as them. They always waste their time to chit-chat. We have a job to do and all they do is to waste time."

Lockon could only sighed. "You always look down on kids like them. You were once with Setsuna, when he first joined the Celestial Beings."

"As I said before, he was just a child."

"And like I said before, you always look down on kids, Tieria." Lockon shrugged, finally, as the five teenagers were able to catch up with them in time. With that, the team entered the Temple of Ifrit.

Inside of the temple was, equivalent to the inside of the mansion, was a large room with two stairs, each on each side, which led to a second floor, leading two opposites doorways. In the first floor, there was two doorways on each side, and there also existed a large gate, which seemed to have four holes around a large stoned circle in the middle.

Karin took a look around the main room, slightly amazed in its architecture. "Wow... This temple looks nice. It's almost like something that you can take a living in. But... I wonder if there's anything that's fire about it." she said, as she thought when there was still no sign of a fire element somewhere around the room. As she took a few steps into the room, one of her feet accidentally stepped into something. A case... which seemed to be pressing down. When she felt it, she suddenly stopped and a drop of sweat appeared on the back of her head. "... Uh oh."

"What? What is it, Karin?" asked Naruto, as he and the others walked up to join up with her. As soon as they reached her, suddenly, numerous pillars of flame appeared in the entrance of the temple, alerting everyone, as they turned back to look. They were surprised. "Huh?! What the...?!"

"What in the world...?" said Lockon, who stared at the pillars of flame. "How did that happen?"

Tieria, who was the first one to know, looked back at Karin, with a dark expression. "You... You didn't set off a trap, did you?"

"Uh... Um... Ah hah hah hah...!" she laughed nervously, as she scratched the back of her head. "I... I think I did, actually... Ah hah hah...! Ah hah..." The laugh slowly died down, as she realized what she had done.

The purple-haired Gundam Meister could only groaned in annoyance and facepalmed. "I should have known that you kids would cause trouble...! And now, look! We're trapped, all thanks to your recklessness!" Karin could only looked down to the ground in regret.

"Oh, come on, Tieria. She just didn't know that there was a trap." said Lockon, trying to convince his comrade that it was only a bad luck, and trying to comfort Karin from the regret.

"Hey, Mika?" asked Shikamaru to the Chosen, looking at her. "You didn't told us that there existed traps such as this."

"Oh yeah... Hah hah... I forgot!" Mika laughed nervously, as she, this time, scratched the back of her own head. "I forgot to mention that there are a lot of traps being set up in the temple, just to try and kill those who enter it..."

"Ah, figures. I knew this won't be so easy." Shikamaru sighed, but he was expecting that there would be some way that won't be so easy for them.

"Hah! No problem!" said Naruto. "I'll just bust up a new way out of that temple, with my Rasengan! I guess that trap is just for guys who are weaker against situations like that!"

"Hold on a second, Naruto." said Mika. "Those walls are as hard as steel. A powerful technique such as your... Rasen... Well, whatever it is called, won't be able to break through it. The entire temple was made with a special kind of metal. And once it was made, there will be no new exit."

The Jinchuuriki could only let out a groan, as he understood that even with the Rasengan, the walls won't break into a new exit. "Well, isn't there any way out of this temple?!"

"Hm... Maybe there is. I'm not sure if it's right, but once we obtain the weapon, the pillars of fire could dissipate, unblocking the entrance. We'll have to find out for sure. And the only way to do so was to go through the temple and obtain the weapon."

Lockon nodded in confirmation. "This proves to be more challenging than I thought. Well, let's get going, then." he said, as he began to walk forward through the room. As he reached the large gate, he looked up to it and examined it. "Hm... This gate... Looks like the weapon must be in the other side." he said, as the others joined up with him. When he continued to analyse the gate, he found an inscription next to it. It looked pretty old, but it was enough for all of them to read it clearly. "... Hm... Let's see what it says..."

_The North Flame is the element which will send certain objects ablaze, burning it until they are ashes._

_The East Flame is the burning atmosphere that occurred when the Sun shines so bright that it changed the temperature._

_The South Flame is where certain mountains cast out their burning liquid, as it burns across their path through the area._

_The West Flame is the color of the element. That color represents the emotion of the burning element, which ravages the people who dared to face it._

_Once all of these four flames are assemble, the gate to the ancient weapon will open._

"Hm... Sounds like we have to find four objects that represent these flames in order to open the gate to get the weapon." concluded Lockon. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Well, in order to find them, we have to go through all these doorways." The team looked around them to see the 6 doorways founded inside of the room. "But from the looks of this... Out of the 6 doorways, 4 of them lead to the four objects."

Mika nodded. "Yes. We have to choose wisely. If I'm right, 2 of them lead to another trap. If we're not careful enough, then we will risk getting killed within those traps."

"Ah... I see..." said Naruto, as he placed his hand on his chin to take on a thinking position. "6 doorways, 4 rights, 2 wrongs... Well, if we want to go through all of this as quickly as possible..." He thought... Then, he snapped his fingers, with a simple idea of going faster through the challenges. "How about we split into 6 teams! Then each of us will have to go through an individual doorway to get the job done as quick as possible!"

"Well, for once, you're right, Naruto." said Shikamaru, who nodded. "But there are 7 of us. So either one of us teams up with the other to go through their challenge, or one of us has to stay and wait for the others to come back.

"Hm... I guess I will have to stay here to wait." said Mika.

"But... But Mika-chan..." said Hinata, who was beginning to worry about the Chosen's well-being. "What if... What if something dangerous will occur to you...? We won't be able to save you, if we go through those challenges..."

Mika gave the young Hyuuga a smile. "Don't worry. I know a lot about the temples. And this room is the safe spot... For now. So as long as I stay put, I won't get hurt or anything."

"Oh... Ok..." said Hinata, who smiled out of relief. "As long as you are ok..."

"Alright! Good!" shouted Lockon, as he clasped his hands together. "With the Chosen staying here safe and sound, one of us will go through one of the gates. Everybody agree?"

"Right!" said everyone... Minus one.

"... No." said Tieria, who crossed his arms.

"Wha...? Oh, come on, Tieria! Don't tell me that you still underestimate them, do you?!"

"I still refuse to let them go in a dangerous task such as this. It's only right for all of us to group together and go through each challenges, even if it will take us a long time to go through everything."

Lockon groaned. "Oh man... You always look down on kids, Tieria..." he whispered. Then, he began to think up something that might work for all of them. He had found one. "Alright, Tieria. How about you and Naruto team up together to go through a challenge together." The brown-haired Gundam Meister received a surprised face from his comrade, and a shout of shock from one of the heroes of the prophecy. "I mean, yeah, he's worried with you guys. But the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf is the important one, right?" The others nodded. "Well, just to be safe, Tieria has to team up with Naruto in order to keep him safe from harm. That alright with you guys?"

"Yeah, I guess that's fine... It's either troublesome, with only one room left for us to check, or not, with Naruto being in the hands of an expert such as him." said Shikamaru. Hinata nodded in agreement.

Karin just simply shrugged. "Alright. As long as Naruto is safe, it doesn't matter what happens to us."

But Naruto was really not ok with it. Be together with the one guy who treated him like a weakling? Something really didn't seem right to him. "But...! I...! This guy is...!"

"Then it's settled!" shouted Lockon, as he clasped his hands together once more. "Let's get to it, everyone!" Everyone, except for Naruto, Tieria and Mika, all left to go in their respective doorways. Shikamaru went to the second doorway to the left, Hinata to the first to the left, Karin to the first doorway to the right and Lockon to the second to the right.

With Naruto and Tieria left, the Gundam Meister looked at the Jinchuuriki. "... Please, don't be a burden to me or else." he simply said, as he went to go to their respective doorway. Naruto gently growled in anger, but he followed him anyway.

"Be careful, everyone!" shouted Mika, as everyone entered the doorway to face their challenge. What lies ahead of each of the individuals? They will have to find out soon.

----------

"Damn it...! Why do I have to be stuck with you through this? I don't like that attitude of yours, jerk." complained Naruto, as he seemingly walked ahead of Tieria through the hall that they went through, the left one of the second floor.

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't like you either." said Tieria, who couldn't really stand the sight of Naruto being ahead of him. "If you get in trouble for some reason, then I would be really angry. Why is it that you, a simple childish ninja, are one of the heroes of the prophecy, the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf, who I can tell that you will mess up soon?"

Naruto scoffed at him. "Maybe you're just jealous of me. I mean, I am the hero of the prophecy, so I can understand why you're so upset at me for some reason."

"That is not the point. What I mean is that I don't want you to go off and recklessly injure yourself without even thinking straight. Do you know how troublesome that is?"

"Hm... Yeah, I get what you're saying. It did happen to me once..." Naruto remembered the time back three years ago, when Konohamaru, grandson of the Sandaime Hokage, wanted to be his disciple so he could beat the old man. At first, he thought it would be too much of a trouble with him around... But not like the situation between him and the Gundam Meister.

As they continued their way through the hall, they eventually reached a certain large room. The two of them looked around to see if there was anything that could be suspicious or different or something. "Huh... Looks like a dead end or something." said Naruto.

"Hm... It might be one of those traps." said Tieria, who was feeling a little suspicious about the room.

When the two examined the room closer and closer, the Jinchuuriki eventually found something from the end of the room. "Hey, is that...?" From his view, it looked like an orb standing inside of a square shape hole. After looking at it closely, he smiled to see that it was one of them. The object needed to open the gate. "There it is! Alright!" he shouted, as he began to run towards it.

However, Tieria quickly noticed something that didn't seem right. "Naruto! Stop!"

But it was too late. When Naruto stopped, after hearing Tieria calling out to him, he unexpectedly pushed a tile with his foot, without even noticing it. "Huh? What's wrong, Tieria?" he asked, as he looked back at him. Then, the two boys heard an unknown crack sound. When Naruto looked back to where the orb was seen, suddenly, a pillar of fire appeared close to his face. "Eee!" Naruto froze up at the sight of a fire pillar in front of him so close, but not too close to him. Then, in the same view, he saw more pillars of fire appearing, one after another. A total of 15 of them were made, all lined up. And then, they begun to move to the sides each, all the way until they reached the end, before restarting with the other side. Each of the pillars moved at a different speed from one another, with the last one being the fastest.

The Jinchuuriki was still freezing up from that. He managed to turn his head back to the Gundam Meister, who was seen facepalming himself. "... You imbecile!" shouted Tieria. "You triggered a switch, you careless idiot!"

"He-Hey! How am supposed to know that there's a trap somewhere in the room?! Don't blame me!" shouted back the young ninja, who was getting irritated by the Gundam Meister's blaming.

Tieria felt his anger building up, but he managed to calm it down, as he sighed out from it. "Get back here. Let's think of a plan..." he said. Naruto complied with it, as he joined back to him. As the Meister looked at the pillars of flaming moving side to side, he could only let out a sigh of desperation. "Now what...? It would be a miracle if one of us managed to get through all of these."

Naruto was thinking. He was thinking of how they would get through the pillars of fire. From the looks of that, it would seem impossible to get through them, without a sure possibility of seeing an opening to everything. But then, he had an idea. "Hey... I got it!" Tieria looked at him a little confusingly. "We don't have to go through that just to get ourselves killed."

"Then who does?"

Naruto grinned. He then formed a cross handseal, as he shouted out, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Suddenly, a total of 10 clones appeared beside them.

The Meister looked at all of them with amaze. "Interesting... A technique to multiply himself..."

"Alright, you guys!" shouted Naruto to his 10 clones. "Listen up! I want each of you to go through those pillars of fire without getting touch by it! If they got you, you're goners! So I want you to look for a sure opening to go through them and get that ball as soon as possible! Got it?!"

"Got it!" shouted the clones.

"Alright! Number one! You're up!" The first clone nodded and he went in front of the series of pillars. He examined the pillars and the different speed that each of them were going, making sure that there was an opening to go through them. After a while, he quickly ran forward, managing to go through some pillars. However, before he could pass halfway, a pillar hit him and he exploded into a puff of smoke. "Hm... Alright! Number two! You're up next!" The second clone nodded. He did the same thing as with the first one, examinating the pillars and their speed, before going through them for a sure opening. But, as with the first, the pillar got him and he disappeared.

Each clone went in after one another and each of them failed. One by one, they got equally hit by the pillar without success. "Ngh... It's not use, Naruto." said Tieria, who was beginning to doubt that it would work. "None of your clones can get through them. It is pointless." But before he could say more, Naruto moved a hand in front of him, signaling him to stay still.

With each clones destroyed, Naruto received experience on how to get through them. Each of them were failure attempts, but as he may tell. The last attempt... may be his best one. After the ninth clone was done for, all that is left is the tenth and last clone. "Number ten, you're up last! You know what to do!" The tenth clone nodded and went ahead to get ready to go through all of the pillars.

With the previous attempts, Naruto received a lot of knowledge through those pillars. Each of them containing the failure attempts of the opening. And this time, he knew which one was the best. After a while, the tenth clone saw an opening, and he ran at full speed through them. The last attempt was a failure. The last clone was this close to go through the pillars. But the last pillar got him, all because he didn't ran faster. With that, the tenth one was sure to go through them all. And he did. He succeeded. As he looked back at the two others, he gave them a thumbs up.

"Heh heh! Good work!" shouted Naruto.

"Amazing... It is like he knew which one is the right opening and the right speed..." said Tieria, who was staring with amaze of the success.

With that done, the clone went to the orb. It looked like a red ball with a black mark that says "Kasai", which means "Fire". As the clone grabbed the orb in his hands, the pillars of fire were all turned off. The clone looked back at the two others again with a large grin.

Naruto looked at Tieria with a victory smirk. "See? I knew that I would manage to find a way." he said.

The Meister couldn't help, but smile fondly. "Hm... I guess you're not so reckless in these situations." he said, nodding.

However, just before the clone was going to join up with the two, a sudden shake was made inside of the room. "Huh? What the...?" said the clone. Then, he heard the sound of something being slid open. He looked back to see the hole opening up a new one from the back. "Huh?" This seemed to be suspicious... He looked through the hole to see something. But then, he saw something red deep inside... And moving closer and closer. As it moved even closer, he could see something that gave him quick a shock. He quickly turned back to the two others. "Hey! Run!" he shouted, as he threw the orb to them.

Naruto quickly caught the orb, being as confused as with Tieria. "Run? Why?"

"LAVA!!!!" the clone shouted once more, before the stream of lava got shot out from the hole, engulfing the clone, as it disappeared.

"LAVA?!?!?!" screamed both the Jinchuuriki and the Gundam Meister, as they quickly turned around towards the exit and ran off at full speed, before the sea of lava could reach them. They were desperately running away from the lava as fast as they could, so that it won't get them faster and faster.

----------

Earlier from that time, the strategic Chuunin was walking through the hall of the doorway that he was going in. He wondered what kind of challenge awaits him right ahead. Honestly, it was a bit of a troublesome thing, as they were forced to be separated just to go faster for each of them.

When he reached inside of a certain large room, he could find something that was a bit challenging than what he thought. "... Great. A sea of lava." he said, as he stared at the sight of a sea of lava.

The entire floor was covered by the lava. But what seemed odd about it was that it seemed to be rising up, then going down. Not in the similar way, but from around the side, they were moving in a different way. To be clear, a corner of the lava was moving up, while another corner was moving down. It was the same as with all the rest of the lava, but each with a different movement. In some spots of the lava, when it was moving down, a solid floor could be seeing, before it was engulfed by the augmentation of the lava.

"I see... Looks like a pattern." he said, as he was able to figure out what he was going to do. He had to jump on one platform, before jumping on another before the lava could engulf the last. If he could get it right, he would eventually reach the safe spot just deeper into the room.

When a platform was out of the lava, due to its lower movement, Shikamaru jumped on it at the right time. "1... 2... 3." he said, before he jumped on another platform which appeared on time, before the lava could reach to him back in the last. "1... 2... 3." he said the three numbers again, before jumping on another platform. With each platform he jumped on, he counted to three in order to jump at the right timing before the lava could get him. He easily figured out the hint of that challenge, and if he kept it up, he would succeed.

After a number of jumps, he reached the safe spot on the other side. As he looked in front of him, he saw a small orb, resting in a hole. He could see two black kanji that say "yougan", meaning "lava". As he grabbed the orb, the sea of lava, which was resting on the floor, dissipated from it, freeing the floor from it. "Well, that was a little complicated..." he said, as he yawned a little. He then went back to the exit to join up with the others, eventually.

----------

Earlier from that time, the young ex-member of Team Hawk was walking through the hall of the doorway that she was going in. She was going to experience a hard challenge as with the others. And she was a little afraid that she would fail to do so, if she ever mess up, like last time.

As she reached a certain large room, she could find that there was nothing special about it. Just a large room with a large floor. "Huh... That's strange... I expect it to be a little more of a challenge than this..." she said. But she shrugged and began to walk forward.

However, when she stepped on a certain spot of the floor, it suddenly glowed. She looked down to see it glow and, without even wondering what it was, she jumped back from it, as it exploded. "Whoa! What the hell?!" she yelled, as she safely landed on the safe spot. "It blew up? But why?" She began to wonder why it was the case. However, when she looked down on the floor, she saw something odd.

Certain parts of the floor had a different color than the rest. These parts were more black than the others. If the one that she stepped on was a black one, then the others must have been the explosive. As she nodded, perfectly understand the principles of that challenge, she went on ahead, carefully not stepping into the black spots, and instead, going through the normal ones. After a couple of runs and jumps, she reached the safe spot. She sighed. "That wasn't very challenging, but it did got me by surprise." she said. As she went forward to the end of the room, she noticed something missing...

There was nothing there. Nothing at all. No hole, no orb, nothing. Just a blank wall. "What? A dead end? Man, I've been going through the wrong way..." she said, as she sighed out of defeat. However, before she could react, a spear was thrust out from a hole, aiming at her left arm. But it missed it by going to the side. "Huh?! What the...?!" she gasped, noticing the spear that was thrust next to her arm. Then, another spear was thrust at her right arm, but this time, it was going under it. She yelped out of surprise and fear. Then, two spears were thrust at the same time, aiming her legs. But both of them missed. "Aaah! What... What the hell is this!!?" she yelled, finding herself stuck between the four spears.

Then, another one was thrust. This time, straight at her head. She noticed it with a blink of an eye, but she had nowhere else to go away from that thrust. As the spear stopped its thrust, it founded itself to her head... But only nicking her cheek, just slightly. She froze up from that sudden attack, but after a few moments, she sighed of relief. "Oh... What in the world is this...?" she said. She was glad to be alive, at least. And she was lucky to escape from that trap.

----------

Earlier from that time, the young heiress of the Hyuuga clan was walking through the hall of the doorway that she was going in. A challenge that deemed to be difficult for the team... And she wondered what kind of challenge that she would take on soon.

She eventually reached a certain room. But there was something odd in her sight. The room seemed to be experiencing a vague movement. But why? Then, when she looked closer, she saw a certain object over there. She gasped. "It... must be one of the four objects...!" she said. She ran towards it to get it, however, when she entered the room, something didn't feel right. Her entire body felt like it was in heat. But what she should be asking... The entire room seemed to be in heat. A massive heat, actually. She could actually feel herself getting hotter and hotter, and before she could reach even half way through the room, she collapsed, gasping for a fresh air. "Ah...! What... is happening... to me...?" she gasped. Her body felt like it was going to burst out. She quickly turned around and went to the exit, escaping from the room filled with massive heat.

Her body quickly regained its cool temperature, and her thoughts for fresh air were gone. She looked back at the room and, after analyzing a little about it, she quickly understood. "... I see. So... this room is too hot for a normal human just like me..." she said. With the room being filled with a massive heat, a body will felt its hot temperature, just like being grilled into a hot fire. It couldn't stand up to the heat. If we were to take an example of a fish being grilled to the fire, it would take a matter of seconds for it to be grilled up nicely. With her, she would be the same as with the same fish, if she ever stayed inside of the room for long.

However, she had an idea for it. If it would work, then she would be able to reach the object in time. "I hope my training pays off..." she said, as she began to move in her fighting stance. With her palm moving back, she quickly thrust it, as she shouted, "**Hakke Kusho!**" The thrust of her palm sent out a large wave of air through the room, seemingly pushing the heat off. "Now is my chance!" she said, as she began to run at full force.

Just as she predicted, with her **Hakke Kusho**, the heat inside of the room was pushed off by the wave of air. However, it would only take a few seconds for it to go back to its original post. She quickly reached the end of the room and, as she saw the orb, she quickly took it in her hands. With that done, the heat surrounding the room seemed to have dissipated. "It's gone..." she said. As she looked down at the orb, she could see a black kanji that says "Atsusa", meaning "Heat". She sighed of relief and decided to go back to join the others.

----------

Earlier from that time, the second Gundam Meister was walking through the hell of the doorway that he was going in. He was going to hesitate with everything, as the challenge that he was going to face will decide his fate.

When he reached a certain large room, he found something that could be seen in his sights. There was a floor with a few blinking red spots in one range one by one. It seemed kind of suspicious, as the blinking red spots could only tell something bad. But who knows. Maybe he could be wrong. But he couldn't take that chance. He began to walk towards one certain spot of the floor which wasn't blinking red. However, when one of his feet touch it, it suddenly broke off and he was pulled in. "Aaah!" he cried out, as he began to fall. He quickly turned around and grabbed onto a ledge of the floor that he was walking onto before. He looked down at the hole, as he saw the part of the floor falling deeply. It looked hollowed. And it would be the death of him, if he wasn't more careful with it.

He quickly climbed himself up from the hole and turned back to the same floor that he was trying to walk on. "... Ah. Now I get it." he said with a smirk. Any part of the floor that doesn't blink red is a death trap. And the blinking red parts are his only sure way out. He was fooled... But he managed to find out the problem. And so, he began to jump onto the blinking red spots, carefully not stepping into the normal parts of the floor. It took him a while to reach there, but he managed to made it with no problem. "That was easy... But still, it was tricky." he said. As he looked what was in front of him, he saw a red orb resting in a hole. The black kanji signifies "niiro", meaning "red". With that done, all he had to do was to jump all the way back to join up with the others.

When he went all the way through the hall again, he eventually reached the main room, in which Mika noticed him and smiled widely. "Oh, Lockon! You're alright!"

"Heh... That challenge was kinda tricky. Even for me." he said, as he scratched the back of his head. Not far long after him, there was Shikamaru who got safely as well, then there was Karin, who only sustained a minor injury, and then there was Hinata, who was equally safe.

"Shikamaru! Karin! Hinata!" said Mika happily.

"Well, that was troublesome... Those kind of challenges were a pain in the ass..." said Shikamaru, who sighed a little, as he was able to get through it done and all. Then, he noticed something around the group. There were only missing two guys of the team. "Huh... Where's Naruto and Tieria?" he asked, as it got everyone's attention.

"AAAAAHHH!!!" They all heard the scream of a certain blond ninja, as they looked up to the second floor to the left. Then, there was Naruto and Tieria, who seemed to be running away from something. As they quickly climbed down the stairs, a large stream of lava were flowing from the doorway, which got everyone surprised. As the two boys were able to get to the first floor safely, the lava from the doorway stopped flowing, as it was petrified into a part of the floor.

Naruto and Tieria were panting hard, trying to catch their breaths, as they were able to get out of there alive. "Whoa...! That was intense...!" gasped Naruto.

"That was insane...! A trap such as this...!" gasped Tieria.

"Well, well. Looks like you two made it out safely. Glad to see you're alright." said Lockon, as he smiled at the two of them.

Naruto looked up to Lockon and the others and gave them a large grin. "Heh heh! It was no problem! It was a pain in the ass, but I managed to go through it all!"

Tieria could only scoff. "Don't push your luck. That doesn't mean that you are being safer than ever before."

At the sound of that, Naruto growled at him. "What was that, you son of a...?!"

Lockon sighed and shrugged. "Well... At least there's one thing that hasn't changed a bit." he said.

Mika was smiling fondly to the team, glad that they were all safe and sound. "I'm glad that you are all ok. I didn't know what I'm going to do if any of you are injured so badly. But I'm glad that you are all alright."

Naruto grinned at her. "Heh! Those challenges aren't enough to stop us! We can take care of them no problem!"

"Alright, guys. Do you at least have the three other orbs that we need?" asked Shikamaru to the team. Naruto, Tieria, Hinata and Lockon nodded, as they revealed their orb. Shikamaru smiled and revealed his orb in his hand as well. "Looks like we have all of them. Now let's get going and go through the gate." he said, as he and the rest of the team went to the large gate.

As they reached it, Naruto was grinning widely. "Alright! With all of the four orbs, we can get inside! Let's put them in!" he said, as he was about to put one of the orbs on one of the holes.

"Hold up, Naruto! It's not that simple you know." said Karin, who managed to stop him just by calling out to him. "Remember the inscriptions. Each of the orbs are each of the flames according to it. We have to put them in the exact order in order for the gate to open. We can't just randomly put them without even knowing first."

Shikamaru nodded. "She's right. We have to put them in the same order as with the prophecy. Like this one, to be exact." he said, as he began to read the first sentence of the inscription. "The North Flame is the element which will send certain objects ablaze, burning it until they are ashes."

Naruto thought about that sentence and, with a click in his mind, he figured out what it was. "Oh! It's fire! I got the fire orb!"

"Then place the orb in the north hole, as what it said. The North Flame is Fire." said Shikamaru. Naruto complied to that and placed the orb he had to the north hole.

"The next one is... The East Flame is the burning atmosphere that occurred when the Sun shines so bright that it changed the temperature."

Hinata nodded. "That... would be heat." she said, as she placed her orb on the east hole.

"Alright. The third one is... The South Flame is where certain mountains cast out their burning liquid, as it burns across their path through the area." Shikamaru nodded at the inscription. "So the south is lava." he said, as he placed his orb to the south hole. "And finally, The West Flame is the color of the element. That color represents the emotion of the burning element, which ravages the people who dared to face it."

Lockon nodded. "The West Flame is red." he said, as he placed his orb to the west and final hole.

Shikamaru nodded, as the four orbs are being placed. "Once all of these four flames are assemble..." he continued to read the inscription. As soon as he said that, a clicking sound was heard from the gate. The large circle was spinning around, and it halted suddenly, before the gate started to open wide. Shikamaru smiled. "... The gate to the ancient weapon will open."

As the gate was wide opened, Mika smiled, at the sight of the other side of the gate. "There it is... The weapon of the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf..." she said, as she began to walk through the gate, along with the others.

Inside of it was a very large circular room, with a circular altar in the middle. Above the altar was a small, glowing red orb, as it shined around the area that it was keeping in. "Is... Is this the...?" Hinata began to ask of Mika.

"Yes." Mika nodded. "This is it. The small orb is the weapon of the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf. All that Naruto has to do is to hold the orb and it will take form, according to the prophecy. With that, the weapon is his."

"So all I have to do is hold it, huh?" said Naruto, as he began to walk towards the altar and the orb. "So this weapon... This weapon belongs to the fire spirit, Ifrit, huh? What would happen if I wield it..." he slowly said, as he slowly reached over to the orb, before gently grasping it.

The others looked very closely at the scene in front of them, waiting for something to happen, with Naruto grabbing the orb. As soon as he had possession of the orb, it soon started to glow brightly some more, surprising everyone. "I... It's...!" Karin gasped, as the light began to brighten more and more, as it enveloped the entire room that the team were in. The team shielded their eyes from the bright light, but Naruto continued to stand still, watching as the orb glows more and more.

It was only a few moments before the light began to fade away from the room. Everyone uncovered their eyes after wards, and what they were staring it was a bit of a shock.

"Huh...? What...?" What Naruto is holding is no longer an orb, but... a kunai with a small orb embending on the middle of it.

"Wait... That's the weapon of Ifrit? A kunai?" asked Karin, as she was getting confused at the sight of the newly formed weapon. The others had the same reaction and confusion as with her.

"Wait, hold on... This can't be right. Why a kunai? I thought it might be something a little more awesome, like an axe or a scythe or something like that!" exclaimed Naruto, as he was unable to believe that he received such a common weapon for him.

"So... Uh... If I can make this quick, could it be that the weapon will be formed according to... what the user is?" Shikamaru began to ask to anyone, including himself.

However, Naruto groaned of annoyance. "Aw man! This sucks! I have plenty of kunais in my possession, and now I have another one?! This is a waste of time, damn it!"

"Oh h-h-hold on, Naruto!" said Mika, trying to make him becoming a little satisfy with something that she will say. "Maybe... Maybe it just didn't reveal its true power yet! According to the prophecy, until the time comes, the weapon will unleash its true power! So give it some time for it to develop, Naruto! Maybe it would look cool, once it is unleashed!"

He began to understand what the Chosen was trying to say, so he sighed and shrugged. "Ah... I guess I can live with it. Just take some time, right? Well, I'll wait for it, I guess."

"Well... This seems to be unexpected. But we got what we need, right? Hopefully, the pillars of flames that are guarding the entrance are gone now, so we'll get back to the Ptolemy. Alright, guys?" said Lockon to the others. They all nodded in agreement.

"Hmph... Let's go. We've wasted enough time for the mission. Let's get back to Ptolemy before anything bad happens." said Tieria, as he began to turn back to go through the gate. However, before he was even able to do so, the gate suddenly closed, in a speed a little faster than normal. "Huh?! What?!"

Everyone were surprised. "What the...?! The gate! It closed?!" shouted Naruto.

"Oh no...! Don't tell me it's...?!" Karin began to run towards the gate, and she grabbed onto something and pulled it hard, trying to at least open the gate for them to get out. However, it was of no use. She couldn't get it to budge. "Oh no...! We're trapped!"

"Another trap?!" exclaimed Shikamaru. Then, everyone heard a sound. "Huh? What's...?" That sound... It sounded like a low growl. A low growl from who? Then, the growl was getting louder the second time. That growl sounded more and more clearly now. It sounded like... "... Monsters?!" As he said it, everyone heard a very terrifying and loud growl from something that could be of a beast... Or a monster, as what Shikamaru said.

"What the...?! Who does it belong to...?!" exclaimed Lockon, as he looked around to see if there was anything around them. But when he looked at the floor, a shadow seemed to appear. But then, it grew larger and larger, almost as large as an elephant. Then, he realized. "Everyone! Get out of the way!" he alerted everyone. As they all noticed the enlarging shadow, they quickly ran away from it, before something crashed onto the ground, shaking the entire room. Everyone fell at the vibration of the ground.

As they looked up to see what it was, they could see the appearance of the beast. A giant lion whose fur is entirely in red and the large fur around its head is ablazed, covered in flames, the same goes with the fur at the end of its tail. Its fangs are as large as a sabretooth's from that size and its claws are as large and sharp as they could be. It was snarling at the fallen team.

"What the...?! A giant lion?!" exclaimed Naruto, as he quickly got up from the ground, as well as the others.

The giant lion looked around at the team, snarling at them, as it was perfectly alerted. Then, when it looked at Naruto, it spotted the kunai in its hand, as it remembered it to be that of its ancient master. It let out a large growl which made everyone shield their ears to keep the sound from breaking their eardrums. With it, it lifted one of its paws up and swiped it towards Naruto.

"NARUTO-KUN!!!" cried out Hinata, as she noticed the lion attacking him.

Naruto looked up to it, as he saw it attacking him with one of its paws. "AAH!! Get away, you monster!!" he shouted out, as he attempted to guard himself with his arms and his kunai in hand. However, just as the lion's claws were about to reach him, a sudden flash of light illuminated the entire room.

When the light fade away, the lion was seeing growling in pain, as it lifted itself up from the ground. When Naruto and the others opened their eyes from the bright light that suddenly occurred to them, they saw the claws of the attacking lion being cut apart. "Huh...? But... How did that...?!" Naruto was confused on why it happened. When he looked down to where his arms guarded him, he gasped, as well as the others when they looked at him.

"What...? Is that...?" said Shikamaru.

"Naruto-kun's... weapon..." said Hinata.

"No way...! Did that actually...?!" said Karin.

"So... That must be...!" said Lockon.

"Naruto's weapon... It's been..." said Tieria.

Mika was the only one who was smiling widely. "It is! Naruto unleashed his weapon's power!"

Naruto was still holding his kunai. But a large difference occurred to it. On the area where the blade of his kunai was, there existed a large blade, at the same of the blade of a sword. But not like a normal blade, that blade was completely made of fire. "This is...? This is my weapon...?" Naruto slowly said, shocked at the sight of his weapon's unleashed power.

"Yes, Naruto! It is your weapon!" shouted Mika happily. "I knew it...! I knew you can do it...! You unleashed the power hidden inside of your weapon! This is the power of the fire spirit, Ifrit, himself! This is the Sword of Endless Hellfire!"

**End of chapter**

Well, done with this chapter. I was planning on making it longer, but... Meh, I think it's long enough. So stay tune for the aftermath of the mission in next chapter! ... Well, I got nothing else to say now, so sleep well tonight!

Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	5. Chapter 4: Sword of Endless Hellfire

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashback_

**Jutsu/Technique**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes.

**Chapter 4:**

**Temple of Ifrit: Sword of Endless Hellfire**

"Sword... of Endless... Hellfire?" repeated Naruto to what Mika said about the weapon that he was holding. A kunai being transformed into a sword of fire, at the time where the giant lion's attack almost reached him. He could feel the power overflowing from the weapon. And its transformation was enough to cut the claws from reaching him.

However, as the lion recovered from the sudden counterattack from him, its chopped claws quickly grew back into their original state, as it began to attempt to strike Naruto down once more.

"Naruto! Look out!" shouted Shikamaru to alert him.

The Jinchuuriki looked up to the attack, as it was beginning to go closer and closer to him at a fast speed. "Ngh!" If the sword was able to cut the claws, it will cut them again one more time. He held the sword up to the air and, just before the claws could reach him, he swung it down on them, cutting them again. The giant moved back, as it cried out of pain for gettings its claws chopped off once more. "Whoa... This sword can cut through anything..." he said in amazed of his sword.

"Everyone!" shouted Lockon. "We have no time to waste! We have to fight that giant lion before it could kill us all! Prepare yourselves!" As he said that, he drew out his gun in his hand, as he aimed it at the lion. Tieria did the same with his own gun, doing the same action as Lockon. Shikamaru drew out his kunai, as he was prepared to face the beast. Hinata already had her Byakugan activated and she went to her fighting stance to face it.

Karin was standing in front of the Chosen, as was prepared to guard her through the rest of the battle. "Don't worry, Chosen!" said Karin. "I'll guard you. I won't let that monster get to you without going through me."

Mika nodded. She then looked at Naruto. "Naruto!" she shouted to him, as he looked back to her. She smiled widely once more to him. "I'm counting on you! The power of Ifrit rests inside of the sword! And I know that you can use it against the lion!"

Naruto grinned, as he gave her a thumbs up with his free hand. He looked back to the backened beast, as he smirked. "Heh! Alright! Let's get this party started!"

It was just enough time for the beast to recover from the counterattack, as its claws were growing back once more. And saw, with a loud roar, it jumped at the team. The entire team dodged the jump by jumping to each of the sides, with Karin grabbing Mika and jumping with her. Shikamaru stood to the left of the beast, as he drew out a few shurikens between his closed fingers. "Take this!" he said, as he threw them at it. However, the shurikens only bounced off on making contact with the skin. The simple touch made the beast turned to the strategic Chuunin, as he growled and lifted its paw to attack. Shikamaru managed to jumped back from the attack range. "Ngh...! His skin is as hard as steel."

Before the beast could go and attack him once more, he was shot by a barrage of small bullets from his right, as it turned to see the two Gundam Meister shooting at him. "Damn, the bullets have no effect on it!" shouted Lockon, as he stopped shooting after numerous of shots.

The lion attempted to make a quick swipe to the Meisters, but they easily dodge it in different directions. "Then let's try using this!" shouted Tieria, as he landed on the ground. He pulled the shooting part of the gun, making it stand at the same place as the handle, as suddenly, a large beam, at the size of a normal blade, was pulled out from the top of the handle of his gun, as it stood straight. However, the purple-haired Meister gave a quick shake to it, as it was turning limped, making it act as a whip. "Here it goes!" he said, as he swung the whip at the direction of the lion, as it began to extend to reach it. The beam whip was wrapped around on one of its legs, as it growled out of pain. "Not done yet!" he shouted, as he pulled the whip hard enough for it to trip to the ground.

"Looks like it works. But now is my turn!" shouted the brown-haired Meister, as he did the same thing as with Tieria with his own gun, with the beam thrusting out from the handle. But this time, he was going to make it act as a sword, as he charged towards the beast with his blade beam in hand. He jumped just as he was getting closer to it, and attempt to make a vertical slash to its head. "Take this!" With a quick vertical strike, the beat growled in another curling pain. However, the attack only made a small burn on it, and it retaliate by swiping his free paw at him, pushing him to the wall, as his back hit it hard. "Ngh!" he groaned in pain, as he fell flat on the solid ground.

"Lockon!" shouted Tieria, as he saw his comrade being pushed off. However, he was letting his grip loose, as the lion could feel that his pull was weakened. It took advantage of it, as he pulled its leg back, pulling Tieria towards it hard. When he got closer to it, it used one of his paws to push him at the same way as with Lockon, as the beam whip was loosen off of it. Tieria groaned loudly, as his back collided with the wall and he fell to the ground.

From behind, Hinata was running towards the beast, as she jumped as high as she could to get above it. As she was just above its head, she immediately dived down, with her right palm ready to strike it. "**Jyuuken!**" she shouted, as her palm struck the head upon landing on it. Without any time to waste, she snet out a series of palm attacks on its head numerous of times, hoping that it would be enough to either knock it unconscious or killing it. However, before she could make any more attacks, the lion brutally shook its head, sending her flying to the side. Before she could hit the ground, she recovered and regained balance, as she landed on her feet, enough to make her slide a little. "It's tough...!"

It looked at her with a fierce look. But just as it was going to attack her, it felt another presence close to it. It turned around and it saw the two people standing deep against the wall. Karin and Mika. "Uh oh...! This isn't good...!" Karin said, as she was prepared to stand still to guard the Chosen behind her. "Stay behind me, Mika! I won't let it get to you!" As she said it, the lion growled at them and began its charge. Karin was more than ready to risk her life for the Chosen.

However, it tripped once more, as the beam whip got a hold of it again around its leg. It was the same whip in which Tieria was fighting with right now. "Not on my watch!" he shouted, as he held himself still, with one knee kneeing against the ground, and a foot standing on it.

The beast was getting tired of being binded by Tieria's whip, as it decided to charge at him with full speed. However, another beam whip was wrapping around its other front leg, as it tripped once more. That whip came from Lockon, this time. "Oh no, you don't!" he shouted, as he pulled on the whip hard, as well as with Tieria, just enough to make it trapped with its front legs crossing each other.

That was the time for Shikamaru to attack, while it was laying there defenceless. "Keep it down, you two!" he shouted, as he pulled out four kunais in each hand, all being wrapped around with a paper bomb each. As he moved in front of the beast, but staying far away from it still, he threw the kunais at its head. However, they were all bounced off. But that wasn't what Shikamaru was aiming for. With a flash of light, all of the paper bombs were set off, exploding against the beast's head, as it cried out of pain.

It was getting really, really angry by all of those attacks. And out of rage, it pulled its two legs to the sides, pulling the two Meisters into the opposite side, as they equally hit their backs against the wall. It was then looking down on Shikamaru, as it was prepared to charge at him again. Hinata was just in time to stand in front of Shikamaru to guard him. "Shikamaru!" she shouted, as she resumed her fighting stance.

However, just as it was about to reach the two, someone shouted. "Not on my watch!" A quick blur was seeing flying to the left side of the beast, striking its head once more with his flamable sword. Naruto landed on the ground next to the beast with determined eyes. "I'm not gonna let you hurt them, you monster!"

It looked at Naruto with fierce eyes, as it opened its mouth. Many particles of orange light were gathered inside of the beast's mouth, as Naruto stared at it without knowing what it was going to do, before it was too late. Shikamaru, however, had a pretty good idea what it was going to do. "Naruto, look out!" he shouted to him. "It's going to breathe fire!"

"What?!" Naruto shouted. However, it was too late. It shot out a large breathe of fire at him, as he was trapped inside of the attack range.

"NARUTO-KUN!!!" shouted Hinata, as she watched in horror of seeing Naruto being burned in the fire breathe. However, he turned into a puff of smoke. "Ah...! A clone...!" she said, as she realized that Naruto was using a clone in his place. Both she and Shikamaru looked around to see if Naruto was nearby.

"Up here, you stupid beast!" They all heard Naruto shouting from above, just as the lion stopped breathing fire. It looked up to see the Jinchuuriki diving from above, attempting to strike it down with his sword. "Here I go!" he said, as he struck his sword on its head, making it cry out of pain once more. It tried to get him off of its head by shaking it brutally, but Naruto wasn't getting off that easily. But after a while, he was, as he was sent flying to the side. However, he managed to land on the ground safely, as he resumed his fighting stance. "Come and get some!"

In response to that, it charged towards him, growling at each and every step it took. "Naruto!" shouted the Chosen from behind it. "Be careful!"

Naruto was staying still, as the beast was getting closer and closer to him with each and every step. He was about to attack, but then, he heard a sudden sound from his head. A sound... of a note being played. In his sights, the beast seemed to be slowing down a little, as well as the others around him. He observed the lion closely, seeking an open from its charge.

He didn't really experience that kind of thing before, as it was all new to him all of the sudden. Could it be because he was holding the sword? And that it gave him the ability to do something such as that? If so, then it would be a big advantage to him. As he looked closely and closely, he saw an opening, as everything returned to a normal speed in his sights. "I can see! You're wide open!" he shouted, as he charged at the lion with his sword pulling above his head. As he let out a large battle cry, the flamable sword began to grow larger and larger, at the size of a giant broadsword.

Shikamaru witnessed the sword, as he widened his eyes. "The sword...! It's...!"

As the lion was about to attack him, Naruto jumped towards him with his large sword, calling out the attack unexpectedly. "Take THIS! **Blade of Hellfire!**" he shouted, as he swung his sword at it. Then, suddenly, he was now standing right behind it, as it stopped moving all of the sudden. Everyone looked at it with close eye, seeing if Naruto got it. Then finally, after a while, the beast fell to the ground, defeated. Naruto looked back to witness the defeated lion, with a mix of surprise and shock. "Whoa..." he said, as the sword began to retake its original shape.

Mika was smiling widely once more, as she saw Naruto defeating the giant lion. "Naruto! You did it!" she said, as she ran up towards him.

"H-hey, wait! Mika!" shouted Karin, as she followed her, at the same time as the others were gathering around Naruto.

Lockon had a surprised look on his face. "Whoa... That was amazing! You defeated that lion somehow." he said to Naruto.

"Incredible..." said Tieria, who could barely say anything about what happened with that. "You defeated that beast with a single strike... How did you do it?"

"I... I'm not sure..." said Naruto, as he looked down at the blade, which was soon then turned back into a simple kunai. "When it was about to attack me... Everything went so slow... And when I found an opening, I attack it without even knowing what I did... And that techinique I used... I don't know how I did it..."

"Your heart was tapping into the sword." replied the Chosen, who still had a large smile on her face. "You called out one of the sword's attack when your heart was tapped into it. That was how you did it. By making your heart connected with the sword."

"Really? Whoa, I didn't know that it could do that through that kind of instinct..."

"Well, apart from that, Naruto..." said Shikamaru, as he smiled at him. When he walked up to him, he gave a gentle slap to the back. "... With your victory over that lion, it looks like you really are chosen to wield the sword. Nice going."

He looked at Shikamaru for a moment, then he chuckled rather sheeplishly. "Heh heh... You think so, Shikamaru?"

"Of course. After all, you always seem to find a way to bring victory to us."

Naruto continued to chuckle sheeplishly. Along the group, Hinata was smiling fondly to the Jinchuuriki. "Naruto-kun..."

Karin was also smiling to him, as she placed her hands on her hips. "You really are something, Naruto. I think I'm beginning to admire you because of that." she said.

Mika was still smiling widely, as she closed her eyes. "There is no mistake... You really are one of the heroes of the prophecy... Thank goodness..." she whispered, as she was sure that Naruto is one of them. The one who will save the world from danger.

**"... You..." **Suddenly, everyone heard a voice, which got them by surprise. They looked around to see where the voice came from, but to no vital.

"What the...? Who the heck is it?" asked Naruto, as he, along with the others, wondered where the voice came from.

**"... You..." **They heard it again. However, this time, it came somewhere along the front of the beast. Everyone decided to check it out, as they all moved to the front of the fallen lion. However, they found no one around there, even though they certainly heard a voice coming from there. **"... Are you... chosen by my master...?" **This time, it was all clear to where the voice came from. They all looked at the lion, seeing it with its eyes still open, but exhausting little strength left.

"Wait a minute... You can speak?!" said Naruto, surprised to see the lion speaking, even though all it ever did was growling and attacking them.

**"... That weapon that you are holding..." **said the lion, which made Naruto looking down on his kunai. **"... The power that you have unleashed... Is it true...? Are you chosen by my master, Ifrit...?"**

"... Um... Well... I guess I am."

**"... I see... So you are deemed worthy of the Sword of Endless Hellfire... My master has chosen you as the sword's rightful wielder... You have defeated me in battle... I have no regret for this defeat... You are truly worthy for the Sword of Endless Hellfire..."**

"I see..."

**"Young warrior... who holds the weapon of my master... May you fight for the goal that you are going through... My master's spirit rests inside of the sword... Use it well, young one..." **As it said it, its eyes began to close, unable to open them for long, with his life being swept away from its body. Its entire boddy, including the fur, were turning to gray, showing that the lion has died.

"Naruto stared at the lion, after hearing its words. Looking down at his kunai once more, Naruto felt a small hint of determination in his heart. "... I really am worthy of the sword... But still, I didn't discover all of its powers yet..." he said. Then, he grinned. "Alright then. In that case, I'll have to train in order to use its powers! I'm gonna be stronger and stronger!"

With that said, the gate, which was suddenly closed and locked up before, slowly opened, surprising the others. "The gate... It opened." said Lockon, upon looking at the opened gate.

"So when the lion is dead, the gate opened for us to leave." said Tieria. "Hmph... This temple deems to be a worthy challenge." The others nodded.

"Well, let's get out of here, then." said Shikamaru, who yawned a little. "Hopefully, the pillars of fire from the entrance would be turned off, now that we got the sword."

"Yeah, hope so." said Lockon with a nod. "Let's get going, everyone. Back to the Ptolemy." He began to walk through the gate, as with the others along with him.

As they got back into the main room, to their relief, the pillars of fire that trapped the team inside were gone now, in response of the sword being taken out. While they were walking, Mika couldn't stop herself from smiling widely at the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf. He noticed her staring at him, as he began to ask her. "Uh... What's up? Something on my face?"

She only shook her head. "No... It's just... I'm really glad that I found you, Naruto. At first, I thought that it would be useless to find you, with how powerless I am... I'm the Chosen One... But I don't have the power to aid my allies... or to find the other heroes of the prophecy. But when you're around... I think I might have a chance to use those those powers soon."

Naruto grinned at her. "Ah, don't sweat it. Someday, you'll get stronger and be able to use the power that a Chosen can have. Besides, we still got a long way to go... But I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you, Mika. I'm gonna protect you from all of those bad guys!"

Mika giggled softly. "Thank you for your encouraging words, Naruto... Jinchuuriki of the Leaf..." she said. As the team were going halfway through the room, suddenly, Mika felt an intense shock inside of her heart, as she suddenly fell to the ground.

Everyone looked back to see the Chosen being fallen. "Mika!" shouted Naruto, as he went to her and kneed down to help her out. The others came as soon as he had done that. "Mika! Hey, are you alright?!" he said, helping her getting up from the ground.

As she was standing on all four, she placed one of her hands on where her heart is, as she was gasping non-stop. Her eyes were widened in fear, as the intense shock was so massive, that fear was inflicted to her. "... Ah...! This... This powerful... energy...!"

"Powerful energy?" repeated Shikamaru, as he became concern of her well-being.

"This energy...! So powerful...! Something bad... is going to happen...!"

"Wait, where is it, Mika?!" asked Naruto, becoming alerted when she said that something bad was going to happen.

After hearing what she said, Karin decided to look back through the entrance to see if there was anyone there. And she found someone. Only one, actually. She gasped. "Guys! There's someone outside!" she said to everyone.

That got everyone more than normally alerted. As the others went to see if there was really anyone outside, both Naruto and Hinata helped Mika getting up, as she stood up from the ground perfectly fine. "I'm alright... But... It's too dangerous outside!"

"That's why we have to check it out, for sure!" said Naruto, as he and Hinata went outside to join up with the others.

"No, wait!" she yelled out to him. But it was no used. They were already curious of it might be. She was still feeling scared, but she ran up to them anyway.

As soon as the team got outside of the temple, they were soon meet face to face with someone. However, two of them, the Gundam Meisters, both quickly remembered the certain person standing outside. "... It's you...!" said Lockon.

"You... You're...!" said Tieria.

The man standing outside... was a short, white hair man with a set of black clothing, as well as a monocle on his left eye. He was holding the handle of his sheathed katana with a small excitement, as he was waiting for the group to come outside eventually. He smirked devilishly at them. "... I've been waiting for you... Hero of the prophecy."

"... Fuhrer... Funnel!" Lockon called out his name, upon remembering him.

"Hmph... And it seems not only do I found the Chosen and those children, but the two remaining so-called Gundam Meisters as well. Today is a lucky day for me and Suzuka Gongen."

Lockon groaned softly at the sight of him. The last thing that they would need to see is one of the members of the Dark Wolves. Meeting one of them there wasn't a good thing for all of them. "What are you doing here, Fuhrer...?! Are you here for the Chosen One...?!"

"Oh... Sadly, not necessarily. It brings tears in my eyes..." Fuhrer mockingly said, as he placed his hand over one of his eyes, in a mocking matter.

"Answer the question, damn it...!"

"Hmph... You're an impatient one. Then if you're really that impatient, then fine. To answer your question fully..." Fuhrer said, as he looked at Mika straight in the eyes, which got her gasp of fear upon contact. He smirked. "Although that it is true that our mission was to capture the Chosen, or if we have to, to kill her, the Aerogaters sensed a strong energy signal coming from this area. I was sent here to see what it was. It is luck to find you here, inside of that temple, while I wait for you to come out."

Mika felt so scared against him. The energy that she sensed... That strong energy... It was more than enough to make her break down from the intense weight of the energy. And that intent in his eyes... They were dark, and inside of that darkness... was a huge intent to kill. She couldn't move facing him. She feared that he will kill her.

"Though I don't know what caused this sudden energy, I am lucky to find you all here. This is a perfect chance for me to go and kill the Chosen as I was originally ordered to do..." he continued with a soft chuckle. "But then, why would I have to do that first, if she can't even fight. Instead, I'll just have to go and face the one who is seemingly worthy to face me..." He then looked away from the Chosen and going straight to Naruto's eyes, which gave him a soft gasp. "... Isn't that right... Jinchuuriki of the Leaf?"

"Ngh...!" Naruto wasn't liking where this was going. One of the members of the Dark Wolves suddenly came here, waiting on them. But what's more, it looked like he was going to kill Mika, if he ever get through all of them. Just the sight of him... made him angry. "You...! You're one of those Dark Wolves guys, right...?!"

"Indeed."

"Then you're here to kill Mika, aren't you...?! Hate to break it to you, but I won't let you do that, you bastard!"

Fuhrer sighed, as he lifted his shoulders up and shook his head. "Didn't you hear me? I was sent here to check out that energy... As well as fighting against you, child. But... If you are interested in me killing the Chosen instead, then I'll be glad to do it for you." He smirked devilishly. "After all, she IS our main target. And I wonder what should I do with her... Should I rip her heart out of her body? Peel her skin? Or torture her by cutting her limbs one... by... one?"

That ticked Naruto off. Just hearing it made him completely made. "The HELL am I going to let you do that!" he yelled, as he charged up to him with his kunai in hand, in which the blade turned into a large one, completely in flames.

"Naruto! Wait!" shouted Shikamaru, as he was trying to prevent Naruto from attacking him. But it was of no use.

Fuhrer's smirk widened, as Naruto charged at him closer and closer. He got into a stance, with his hand still holding the handle of his katana. "You dare to attack me first? A foolish mistake, Jinchuuriki!"

As Naruto was at around a few inches away from him, he jumped off the ground and attempted to slash him upward. "Take THIS!!!" he shouted, as he swung his sword down. However, it was completely blocked, when Fuhrer unsheathed his katana and blocked it full on. "What...?!"

Fuhrer's smirk never ceased to stop, as he looked at the weapon that Naruto was holding. "Hmph...! I see... So that is what made the energy signal... It was this weapon. The Sword of Endless Hellfire."

Naruto gasped of shock, upon hearing him saying the name of the sword. "What...?! How did you...?!"

"It was known as the weapon that slayed many monsters. A legendary weapon forged by the great fire God himself, Ifrit. Its power is overwhelming, and any who dares to face the wielder of the sword recklessly will feel the burning wrath of it. However, now that I clashed with it, I notice a huge disadvantage at your side... You haven't unleashed its TRUE POWER!!!" He quickly push Naruto off, as the Jinchuuriki was backing up from the push. When he regained his balance, Fuhrer already went up to him and hit his head with the handle of his katana.

"Grah...!" Naruto groaned, after he received that attack. However, it wasn't over, as Fuhrer followed it up with a powerfull knee to his stomach, pushing out the air inside of him. And at last, he turned to the side and kicked him hard, makign him go flying back to the group, as he crashed to the ground.

"Naruto!" cried Mika, upon seeing him crash into them. She then looked back at Fuhrer with the same terrifying look as before. "No... Naruto isn't ready yet to face one of them...!"

"Ngh...! Damn it!" cursed Tieria, as he pulled his gun out and aimed it at Fuhrer, as Lockon did the same with his. Shikamaru drew out his kunai and prepared to fight, while Hinata activated her Byakugan and got into her fighting stance. Karin kneed down next to naruto, to see if he was alright. "Naruto! Speak up! Are you alright?" All she received was a soft groan, indicating that the attacks weren't too fatal. She let out a soft smile of relief. But then, she turned to Fuhrer with a serious look, while still keeping Naruto safe. "Mika. Get behind a tree. We'll take care of him."

Mika hesitated at first, thinking that it was going to be a waste, and that they will surely be beaten by a strong man such as him. But when she looked at the others, who all have a determined look, she held back. "Alright... Be careful, everyone!" she said, as she quickly went behind one of the trees to her right.

Fuhrer let out a sigh. "Oh dear... And I thought that we would be able to settle it nicely... But I can see that you're resisting quite much." he said. But a smirk appeared one his face, as his expression became dark. "But that resistance won't help you any further... Your blood shall be a feast for my Suzuka Gongen!"

"Shut up, you monster!" shouted Tieria, as he pulled the trigger and shot at him. However, Fuhrer quickly blocked it with his katana. Tieria then shot out more bullets, all which were easily blocked by the katana.

After several of bullets were shot, Fuhrer suddenly went up in front of Tieria, in a quick speed, as he swung his katana upwards to cut his gun in two. "Toys such as this is useless!" he said, as he made a circular kick to the right, hitting Tieria, as he was sent flying away until he hit the tree, groaning loudly.

"Damn it!" shouted Lockon, as he pulled the top part of his gun once more, as the beam was thrust out of the handle. He attempted to slash Fuhrer with it, but Fuhrer quickly turned towards him and blocked the attack. He growled once more, as he swung his beam blade to another side, in which Fuhrer blocked it once more. He made another few slashes, which were, sadly, all blocked.

And with another attempted strike, Fuhrer once again blocked it, as they were locked in a power struggle. "Without that machine of yours, you cannot hope to defeat me with just yourselves, Gundam Meister!"

"We don't need a mech...! Our bodies are just enough to defeat you!" shouted Lockon. As the two of them were struggling against each other, Hinata quickly appeared behind Fuhrer, attempting to strike her palm into him. However, Fuhrer was quickly aware of her presence, and with his free arm, he turned his head back and elbowed her stright to the face, making her groan and step back. "You're open, you bastard!" shouted Lockon once more, as he lifted his beam blade up and swung it down on him.

"Please! I grow tired of that silly trick!" he said, as he swung his leg behind Lockon's legs, as he was beginning to fall from his attack. Fuhrer quickly grabbed one of his arm and threw him over towards Hinata, as the two crashed into each other and fell back to the ground.

Suddenly, a shuriken, attached with a wire, was flying around his body, before it clinged onto a part of it. His body was being hold tight, and he looked behind him to see the strategic Chuunin. "You're mine now!" shouted Shikamaru.

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me. That same old trick won't work on me again!" he shouted, as he began to swing his body around with a tremendous strength, as he pulled Shikamaru in and swing him around and around, before he was eventually hit into a nearby tree, as the wires were loosened up.

Tieria was struggling to get up from the ground, as he watched the others being beaten up by the enemy. He was growling in anger. "Bastard...! I have no other choice...! I have to USE it!" he shouted, as his eyes were suddenly changing color. Now, they became light yellow, the same color as the shining and sinister moon. He quickly got up from the ground and moved both of his hands to the side of his hips, before pulling out a pair of beam sabers, both activated. "You leave me with no choice!" With that, he suddenly disappeared from sight.

Fuhrer quickly noticed the energy that he was sensing. "That energy... That sudden energy belongs to that other Meister!" he said. Suddenly, Tieria appeared behind him, in which he quickly intercepted and turned around. However, the purple-haired Gundam Meister already made his attack, as he slashed one of his beam sabers at him. Fuhrer quickly blocked it, but the amount of power resting in that attack suddenly pushed him back. "Ngh!" he groaned, as he was able to regain his balance from the sudden push.

"You're still wide open!" said Tieria, to whom his voice came from nowhere. Fuhrer looked around to see if the Meister was around here somewhere. However, Tieria appeared behind him again, and as Fuhrer was shielding himself quickly with his katana, he attacked him again, pushing him back once more. Tieria then disappeared once more.

The process was repeated again and again, as Fuhrer was pushed off again from the attack that overwhelmed his katana. He was getting irritated by it. "You're quick and strong, just like when you're in that machine... However..." He smirked, as he lifted his hand in front of him, as energy was gathering around it. Then, a large, shining, circular glyph appeared below him.

When Tieria quickly appeared behind him again, he was suddenly stopped, as he could no longer move his body. "My... body...! Can't move...!"

Fuhrer turned around to look at the Meister, smirking. "Very nice, Meister. With that power that you are using, you would be able to defeat... sadly... a minor level of our organization." he said. He then moved his hand in front of Tieria's face, as energy began to form inside of it, forming into a shining ball. "You are strong inside of that machine... but when you ae alone... You are just weak." With that said, the energy ball exploded in Tieria's face, sending him flying far away from there.

"ARGH!!!" Tieria groaned loudly, just before he was crashing into the ground and sliding further and further away, beofre making a full stop. His face was damaged, and that attack was powerful enough to knock him out. "Ngh...! Damn it...!" he cursed once more, before he fell into unconsciousness.

"TIERIA!!!" cried out Mika, upon seeing the purple-haired Gundam Meister defeated.

Fuhrer was chuckling, as he had defeated the Meister. "Oh, how tragic... You aren't able to defeat me, without that machine of yours. But that is your disadvantage of your current battle, Meister..." he said. However, suddenly, his body couldn't respond to his simple mouvements now. Instead, he was moved to a position that he didn't mean to do. "What...? What is this trickery...?!" He struggled to control his body, but of no use. He looked in front of him and saw Shikamaru, doing the same position as with him.

"Possession successful!" he shouted. "Now, it's time for the final touch!" He then formed a few handseals, before shouting out, "**Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu!**"

When Fuhrer looked down on his body, upon feeling a strange touch down there, he found a shadow hand, crawling up to him in each and every inch. "A shadow hand...?!" he shouted. He looked back at Shikamaru, who was holding out his hand and was crippling it a little. He smirked. "Ah... I see. A technique to force the victim to be in the same stance as the user. And with another technique, he uses a shadow hand to crawl up to his opponent, attempting to strangle him. So that's what he was trying to do... However..." His smirk began to widen. "... I can make him stop, even without the use of my body. Only my energy!" Suddenly, he widened his eyes.

At the exact moment, Shikamaru felt himself being pushed back. A massive air was thrust at him, as he was sent flying back a few feet away. "Ngh...! What the...?!" he shouted, as he quickly landed onto the ground safely.

Fuhrer felt himself regaining control of his body once more. "Interesting... Techniques such as those would be essential when dealing with huge crisis such as this. However, it will never work on me, when I have a way to break free from it." As he said that, he pulled his katana back, with the tip pointing at Shikamaru. Then, energy was gathering around it, as he was exercing another attack. "Time to go to sleep, young one!" he shouted, as he thrust his katana, shooting out a large energy ball towards Shikamaru.

"What?! What is...?!" The Chuunin noticed the energy ball flying towards him, before it was too late. It hit him and blew up, sending him flying away once more. "AARGH!!!" he groaned, before he crashed into the ground. With no other nergy left within him, he fell into unconsciousness as well.

"NO!!! SHIKAMARU!!!" cried out Mika, at the very same way as with Tieria's defeat.

Fuhrer was smirking once more, as he defeated yet another enemy. But then, he felt a presence of another enemy behind him. He looked around to see Hinata, attempting to thrust her palm towards him. However, he dodged it. But she wasn't finished with him yet. She threw out a couple of more palm attacks at him, in which he dodged them all. "Come now, woman. A close range attack from you wouldn't be enough to reach me."

"Ngh!!" Hinata was going to forgive him, after what he had done to Shikamaru and Tieria. She threw out another powerful palm at him, but suddenly, he grabbed her wrist. She gasped.

Fuhrer smirked at her wasted effort. "You've done well. But now, it's time for you to join your comrades." he said, as he threw her arm up from the front and grabbed her hair, pulling her in.

"Ngh...!" She felt that her head was going towards him, and before she knew, he lifted his knee up, hitting her face hard. "Grah...!!" she groaned, after receiving that hit. But it wasn't over. He did it four more times over, almost breaking her face from all those impacts. Then, she felt that her consciousness was fading away.

After seeing her losing consciousness, he threw her to a nearby tree, as she crashed into it. "Normally, I wouldn't harm ladies such as you. But you are an enemy. And you are mostly irritating to take care of..." he said. Suddenly, he moved his head to the side, as a bullet was shot above his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Lockon, with his gun pointing at him. "Ah, yes. I almost forgot about you..."

Lockon wasn't going to let himself be beaten by him, after what he did to his allies. He shot multiple of bullets at him, but Fuhrer dodged them all. And each and every bullet made him step in closer and closer, just before he reached him at a single inch. "Ngh...!"

Fuhrer quickly grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him up from the ground. "You were always an annoyance to me, Lockon Stratos. I always wanted to kill you senselessly. But my job isn't to kill you, as of now. It is to kill the heroes of the prophecy. You are just in the way!" He shouted, as he pulled Lockon to a nearby tree, crashing his back into it, as he groaned loudly. But just like with Hinata, Fuhrer did it four times over. He then let go of Lockon, as he fell to the ground unconscious.

With the four of them defeated, there were only two in the battlefield. He turned to look at the two remaining people. Karin gasped, as she saw him heading his way over there. As she looked back down on Naruto, she couldn't just leave him to die. She stood up from the ground and attempted to face him herself. "No...!" moaned Naruto, as he looked up to see her standing in front of the enemy. "Karin...! Run away!" He was struggling to stand up from the ground to stop her from going to her doom.

"No! I won't let you get killed by that guy, Naruto! You're one of the heroes of the prophecy. And it's my duty to protect you for as long as I can!" said Karin, as Fuhrer was getting closer to her. She felt no regret of doing that for him. If she were to die here, she would die trying to protect someone.

As Fuhrer was standing close, he smirked. "What would you gain from protecting him? You look absolutely weak, compared to the others. You look more of a healer of some sort. You thought that you can stand a chance against me?" He wasn't receving any speaking response out of her. But instead, she pulled her fist back and attempted to throw it at him. However, with his hand, he stopped her fist from even reaching him. "Protecting a boy such as him... is only a useless effort." he said, as he gripped his hand hard on her fist.

"AAAAHHH!!!!" Karin yelled out in pain, as she felt that the bone inside of her hand was getting crushed. Fuhrer then lifted her arm up in the air, lifting her body off from the ground, and after letting it go quickly, he hit her face hard with the back of his hand, as she was sent flying to a nearby tree, hitting it and falling to the ground.

"KARIN!!! NO!!!" cried out Mika to her.

With yet another one defeated, he looked at Naruto, as he was getting up from the ground. The Jinchuuriki looked at him straight in the face, and he growled of anger. "And then, there is one..." said Fuhrer with a soft chuckle.

"You...! You're gonna pay!" shouted Naruto, as he charged at him with his sword in hand. As he attempted to slash him, Fuhrer quickly blocked it. Naruto then made another slash to another way, but it was blocked as well. He then tried it again, and again, but to no use. Finally, Fuhrer turned to the side and kicked Naruto once more to the chest, as he was walking back from the impact. As he stopped and regained his balance, he quickly formed a cross handseal with his hands. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" A total of four clones appeared next to him, as the four of them grouped around Fuhrer, surrounding him.

"Hm? Clones?" said Fuhrer, surprised to see clones being formed. One of the clones charged at him and attempted to slash him, but Fuhrer quickly swung his katana at him, cutting him into two. It then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Another one charged at him from behind, but he quickly made quick work on him, as he was also cut in two. Then, two more charged at him together, but with two quick slashes, they were goners.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" He heard Naruto shouting a technique once more. Two more clones stood in front of him, and they all charged at the same enemy.

He scoffed. "Give it up! It's useless!" he shouted, as he slashed both the two clones as quick as possible. "Your clones can't even lay a finger on me, boy!" As he looked to see Naruto, what he saw was something that got him surprised. "What...?"

He saw Naruto and another clone of his doing something. As Naruto had his free left hand out, the clone was gathering something with his hands and into Naruto's hand, forming some kind of a spiral energy. After enough time has been made, the clone disappeared and Naruto charged at him with one of his powerful attacks. "Try this one for size! **Rasengan!!!**" he shouted out, as he thrust the attack at his enemy. However, Fuhrer suddenly disappeared from sights, as Naruto was only thrusting against the empty air. "Huh?! What?!" Naruto looked around himself to see if Fuhrer is around here somewhere.

But before he knew, a sudden presence appeared behind him. "Impressive... That attack that you just did is quite powerful, Jinchuuriki." said Fuhrer. He then smirked widely. "But this... is the end for you."

Before Naruto could have time to react, Fuhrer quickly slashed on his back. The Jinchuuriki was left standing in his spot, immobilized. Mika, who was still behind a tree, looked in horror, as she saw something that breaks her heart. Blood was gushing out of his back, from the wound that he had just received. He then slowly fell forward, into the ground with his blood spreading everywhere around him. Mika gasped out of shock and horror, as the Jinchuuriki... was defeated.

"NARUTO!!!!!!!!"

As he crashed into the ground, Fuhrer continued to stand behind him, smiling devilishly to his victory. "One of the heroes of the prophecy? Don't make me laugh, boy..." he said. "It was a mistake for those Eclipsia worms to have chosen you as the savior..." He continued to smile down at his fallen opponent. However, he heard a sudden groan coming from him. "What...?"

Naruto's body began to move, as he pushed himself from the ground, turning to face his enemy. He could feel his blood being leaking from his wound, as it surrounded him in a pool of blood. "I'm... not finished... with you...!" he groaned.

"Huh? That's strange... That slash could have killed you, with the size of that wound." Fuhrer said, getting confused of how Naruto survived that. But then, he sook lightly, and looked down on him with his usual smirk. "Oh well. I still have the chance to kill you once and for all, boy..." he said, as he lifted his katana up above Naruto, the tip of it pointing at his head. "With this, you will surely die. And my mission of will be complete, with you dead as a mouse." Naruto was struggling to get out of harms way, but his body couldn't move any further. He was at the mercy of the final attack.

Mika wanted to help him. She wanted to help Naruto getting away from Fuhrer. But her body couldn't move. She was too scared to even move an inch. She regretted not being able to help him. All she could so... was to watch him being killed by the member of the Dark Wolves.

"Farewell... Jinchuuriki of the Leaf." said Fuhrer, as he was about to thrust his katana at him. However, suddenly, he felt a could object pressing against the back of his head, as he stopped himself from doing his final attack.

"Don't move, Fuhrer. Or else, I'll shoot." said the sudden presence behind him.

As he was left immobilized by that, he could only smirk. "... That voice... That presence... How did I not sense it earlier? It could only belond to one person..." he said, as he chuckled slightly. "... Sumeragi Lee Noriega."

It is indeed her. Standing behind him is Sumeragi, with her gun pressing against the back of his head. What she was wearing was no longer her white suit, but a sleeveless, blue, buttoned shirt, with a pair of beige pants. She was just in time to save Naruto from being killed. "It's been a while... Hasn't it, Fuhrer?"

"Indeed... The last time we met was at the last war that we have fought against each other... So I was not mistaken. You really are the one responsible of keeping the Chosen out of our sights."

"Miss Sumeragi!" cried out Mika, who was glad to see the Tactical Forecaster appearing there on time to save the Jinchuuriki. However, she wasn't hoping for more, as she knew that Fuhrer is essentially stronger than her.

"However..." continued Fuhrer. "... Do you really think that you'll be able to protect the Chosen for long, Sumeragi? In this fusioned world that we are currently fighting in? This is different. We have achieved our primary goal, and we are gathering power from the fusion universe. You Celestial Beings and those other pathetic enemies are worthless against us now."

Sumeragi, however, smirked at his remark. "You think so? Don't forget that we have one of the heroes of the prophecy at our side. Not to mention that there are others who will assist us to put a stop to you and the Dark Wolves. We are not defeated. And we will put an end to your plan."

Fuhrer continued to smirk. "You are still hoping for that?" he said, just before he quickly turned around and slapped her gun away with the back of his katana, before he jumped back away from her. Sumeragi quickly retaliate with a few shots at him, in which he dodged them all easily. He then quickly got closer to her and elbowed her hard, making her move back a little. She recovered, however. "Why are you still yearning for hope? You have lost your powerful assault units, as well as two of your comrades. And yet, you still think that you have a chance in hope? You are truly foolish, Sumeragi."

"Hmph... Don't underestimate us, Fuhrer. We are going to put a stop to the Dark Wolves. As long as we have the heroes of the prophecy, we won't lose to the likes of you!"

He suddenly laughed. "Oh please! There is no hope for that! And yet, here you are, ready to fight me even though you know that you are going to lose miserably! Do you still look down to my strength, Sumeragi Lee Noriega?!"

Sumeragi just smirked. "... No. Your strength is overwhelming. Even I can't do a thing against it. However, you shouldn't underestimate me, Fuhrer..." As she said that, she slid her hand into one of her pockets, before pulling out some kind of syringe with a needle implanted into it. Fuhrer eyed at it upon noticing it. "Because there's a lot that I have in store for you soon..." She then moved the syringe up to her neck and quickly injected it into it, making her moan in small pain. She slowly pushed the liquid inside of the syringe into her neck, before pulling it out from it.

Fuhrer was confused. What was she doing just now? That syringe... Why was she using it? "Sumeragi... What is that injection? What are you trying to do?"

She smirked. "You'll see soon enough, my man..." she said. Suddenly, she quickly disappeared, making Fuhrer caught off guard by it.

"What?!" he shouted. Then, suddenly, the Tactical Forecaster appeared behind him, as he noticed her presence. Before he could react, she quickly elbowed him straight to he head, as he was sent flying a few feet away. Just before he could touch the ground, he regained his balance and landed it safely. He was shocked. "What...?! What is this?! How can you...?!"

Maki was more than surprise as him. How could Sumeragi be able to hit him like that? She thought that Sumeragi was no match for him. But seeing her now... She doubted that it was the case in this battle.

Sumeragi was still smiling at the shocked enemy, as she lifted her hand up in front of her, then clenched it into a fist.

"This is going to be fun..."

**End of Chapter**

Hey, guys. It's me again, with a new chapter... Well, I kinda lost my touch over the end, but... I think i did well, hopefully. So, I have nothing to say for it. Sorry that I sound like I'm in a hurry. There's an exam coming up tomorrow and I have to study. So here it is. Hope you like it.

Well, Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	6. Chapter 5: Sumeragi's Battle

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

**Jutsu/Technique**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes.

**Chapter 5:**

**Sumeragi's Battle**

"This is going to be fun..." said Sumeragi, smiling as she clenched her hand into a fist in front of her.

Fuhrer was shocked. Sumeragi was never like that before. She was only a Tactical Forecaster, useful only for making plans and deducing the enemy's plan, in order to backfire it at them. How could she be that strong against him now? She didn't look like that she had made progress on herself last time... "This is impossible... You, a member of Celestial Beings, one of the great strategist of the Alliance, could not have become that fast and strong so quickly! I know you, Sumeragi! You're never the type of woman who can just fight an enemy so recklessly!" he shouted. However, something got him in his mind, as a simple object led him to a conclusion of that strange increase of speed and power. "Unless..."

Sumeragi chuckled slightly. "Looks like you got it, Fuhrer."

"... I see." he said, smirking. "So it is because of the injection. The serum that has been injected into your neck... It increased your power and speed so suddenly, isn't it?"

She nodded. "That's right. That serum has been made specifically for me, in case that there is a situation that I must deal with myself. And now that you were going to kill Naruto, it's only a matter of time before I use the injection to fight against you equally."

"I see. So you're not reckless after all, Sumeragi. You're just the same woman that I have met before, with a little increase of power and speed through an injection... But I wonder... The effect doesn't last long, does it?"

She nodded once more. "Right again. The effect of the serum is limited. It could only be of use for a limited time of 10 minutes. And in those 10 minutes, I have to defeat you before you can kill one of our comrades. Including the Chosen and the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf."

Fuhrer could only laugh, laughing at the small amount of time that the effect has for her, as well as her attempt to save her allies. "Oh, get real. 10 minutes to save your precious friends? You have got to be kidding me. It's still enough time to fend me off just to save them. In fact, how about I kill you even within those 10 minutes? You don't have enough time or strength to get me down so easily, Tactical Forecaster!"

Sumeragi's expression was turning from being amusing to being serious, as she was prepared to fight. "We'll see about that, Fuhrer." she said, just before she disappeared once more. Then, she quickly reappeared behind him again and thrust her elbow at him. However, he suddenly disappeared. "What?!" She quickly looked around to see if her opponent is somehwere there.

However, Fuhrer reappeared behind her and grabbed the back of the collar of her shirt, before throwing her over him hard. As she was sent flying, she quickly regained her balance and landed on the ground. She quickly aimed her gun at him after wards and shot a few bullets at him. However, he dodged each of them, with one step closer with each bullets being dodged. "How many times are you going to shoot me before you realize that it's pointless?!" he said, as he stood right in front of her, before he swung his katana in a horizontal slash to her neck.

However, luckily, she quickly pulled her back down just in time to avoid it. But then, as his slash missed her, he spun around and attempted to slash her to her legs. But she dodged it by making a large step back with both of her feet. His next move was to thrust his katana three times at her stomach, in which she dodged each of them to each of the sides. Then finally, he leaned forward, before jumping back from the ground to make a forward spin with his body. When he was almost at his straight stance, he swung his katana above him to slash her hard to the ground. However, she made a huge leap back from the attack range, as the katana only slammed itself to the ground. "Nice. As expected for a member of the Dark Wolves." she said, as her feet touched the ground again from the leap, smiling. "But let's see if you can withstand this!" She quickly pulled the top part of her gun up, making a beam thrust out from the handle. She charged at her opponent and attempted to make a vertical slash at him/

Fuhrer quickly blocked the attack with his katana. He was seen smirking at her, with her smirking back. With that, they pushed each other off and Sumeragi attempted to slash him again, in which he dodged it by moving back. She then attempted to make another vertical slash, but he dodged it by moving back once more. But she wasn't done with her attack yet, as she spun around and attempted to slash off his legs. He quickly blocked it before it could reach him. Sumeragi spun around once more to attack him with another slash, but he blocked that one as well. And then, she made another quick slash which was also blocked by his katana. "You expect us to fight with only swords?" he said, as he pushed her off by kicking her. Then, he lifted both of his index finger and middle finger together and a small energy was gathered into them. "I like to play dirty against people like you!" he shouted, as he thrust both of his finger to shoot out a small beam.

Sumeragi quickly noticed the attack and tried to guard it with her beam sword. However, the impact against her beam sword and the small beam was enough to make her stumple back, before she regained her balance. "Damn it...! It's not enough...!"

"Hah hah!" laughed Fuhrer. "You surprised me at first, Sumeragi. But now that I can see how strong you are, I won't go easy on you, woman!" As he said that, he struck his katana deep to the ground, as energy was radiating into it. As he moved his right arm in front of him and moved his hand in a crushing matter, he lifted it up high, as three large rocks were floating from the ground. One of those rocks is larger than the other, blocking most of the road that they are standing on. "Try dodging those!" He quickly swung his arm, making one of the rocks to fly towards her.

She gasped, upong seeing the flying rock. "Damn...!" She began to run towards it, quickly dodging it just before it could reach her. However, Fuhrer swung his arm again, as another rock went flying towards her. She dodged it one more time, just like the last one. And then, Fuhrer swung his arm for the last time, making the last rock, the large one, to fly towards her as well. She found no other way to dodge that one, unlike the others. So in a desperate attempt to go through it, she jumped forward at it and swung her beam sword above her horizontally, slicing the rock in two, as the separated parts were moving from the opposite direction. She continued to fly towards him, attempting to slash him once more. "You're mine!" she said, singing her beam blade at him.

However, he disappeared once more, making her slashing the empty air, as she landed on the ground. She looked around desperately for her enemy. "Looking for me?" She suddenly heard his voice from above, as she looked up to see Fuhrer attacking, with his katana pointing at her down. "Eat this!" he shouted.

"Ngh!" she quickly jumped back from his attack point, as his katana struck the ground. However, suddenly, four pillars of fire appeared around him, spinning themselves around, as she unexpectedly dodge one of them that it was too close for comfort. Sooner after wards, the pillars dissipated, and Fuhrer looked at her once again with menacing eyes. She growled softly. "Damn it...! If this keeps up, the effect will wear off soon...!"

"Heh heh heh... I am not surprised at you, Tactical Forecaster." said Fuhrer. "Even when you injected yourwelf with a serum that can increase your fighting capabilities, you are not as much of a challenge as those rotten Gundam Meisters. They are simply rats, compared to us."

"Don't you DARE say anything bad at my comrades...!"

"Why? Can't you see them? Look at them now." he said, as he showed her the two Gundam Meisters that were defeated in battle by him. "Lockon Stratos is not a worthy challenge against me. Neither is Tieria Erde. The two of them are weak against me on the ground alone, without their machines to help them out in battle. So you see, my lady, without your ultimate assault units, we are just more powerful against you Celestial Beings and those rotten Alliances."

"Shut up!" she shouted at him, becoming angry all of the sudden because of his comments. "My comrades are not weak! You hear me?!"

"Then why is it that I defeated those two here... And that we killed the two other Gundam Meisters in the last war? Your comrades are essentially weak against us. Their machines were a pain, but we managed to get rid of them, right?"

"If you call any of them weak again, I'll cut you down myself, even if I risk my life!" she shouted, as she began to charge at him with her beam blade ready. As she attempted to slash him up, he disappeared once more. "Damn it! Where are you, you coward?!"

"Coward?" he asked from somewhere around the area, and then, he laughed. "Who is the coward around here? You are someone who kept herself at bay inside of her ship, assisting the others with her tactics. I don't see you fighting alongside with them in battle. That's what a coward is. Someone who only assist people through the safe unit."

"Grr...! I won't let you provoke me like that, Fuhrer...!"

"And do you know what a true coward is? Someone who keeps secrets from others."

She widened her eyes, upon hearing what he said. "What...?! What are you talking about?!"

In response to that, he quickly appeared behind her, just a few feet away from before. "Don't lie. It only makes you even more of a coward than normal." he said, with a sinister smirk. "Now, let me ask you something... When those two Gundam Meisters were killed by us in the last war, did you feel and overwhelming sadness over them?"

"What...? Of course I did! They were our comrades and you killed both of them! We can't possibly forgive you and the Dark Wolves for the death of Setsuna F. Seiei and Allelujah Haptism! They were still young... And you killed them both!"

"But... Is it the biggest sadness that you felt? Is it, my dear?"

"Damn, shut the hell up, you monster!" she shouted, as she furiously charged at him with all of her might. "I have ENOUGH of your nonsense comments about them!"

"Then, let us compare the death of those two Meisters... with the death of someone that you grew attached with before."

She suddenly stopped charging at him, after hearing what he said, with her eyes widened in shock. "... What...?"

He chuckled slightly. "Oh, come on, now! Don't tell me that you forgot about it, do you? It is your biggest heartbreaking sight ever! The one moment where you have started to loath me because of my actions to a single person! Compare the deaths of the two Meisters with the death of a single person! The death of someone that you have grew closer with! The death of someone that you have fallen love with! The death of someone who you had kept your secrets from him after all this time!"

Sumeragi was speechless. When he started speaking of that certain death, her mind began to reminiscing about it... But she wanted to forget about it. She didn't want to remember the one thing that broke her heart into millions of pieces. And now, she was reminiscing about it, because of what he said. "No... Stop it..."

"You are starting to remember, huh, Sumeragi? Yes... In the exact same war where the two Meister were killed, there was one person that I myself killed him off."

"Stop it...!"

"After researching all about you, Sumeragi, I have found a certain detail about your love. And with that, I took advantage of your hatred by killing him."

"Stop it!"

"Now, what was his name again? Oh, it's hard to remember, since he was so inferior and so hopeful for their peace... Oh, wait... It's coming back to me... Oh yes! Now I remember!" He smirked, as he saw the painful expression on the Tactical Forecaster's face. "His name... Was it a certain..."

"STOP!!!"

"... Billy Katagiri?"

Hearing that name, her mind quickly remembered that certain time. As the reminiscing memory began to flow in her head, she dropped her beam sword and kneed down to the ground, her hands clunching on her head, as the memory that she was remembering felt like it was making her in pain. She didn't want to remember it... She didn't want to... But now, she does.

"That's right, Sumeragi..." Fuhrer said once more, smirking widely. "Remember the death of your love... And remember the mistake that you have made for pulling him involved in this..."

_Flashback_

_It was the time of another war against the Dark Wolves and the Aerogaters. Sumeragi was seen running through the plains, after receiving an information regarding someone from the United Nations Forces, who seemed to be a scientist for the group. She remembered the description of someone as the one who she had been growing attached with. It said that he was seeing, fighting a group of Aerogaters alone, without anyone from his Forces. She didn't want to sit still inside of the Ptolemy, when that someone was in danger._

_As she ran through the plains for a little while longer, she spotted a certain someone. A man of brown hair, with a ponytail tied to the back, who wore a white coat, black shirt and black pants. He was surrounded by a few amount of Aerogaters, all being defeated by a single man with a simple gun. She had no doubt about it. It was really him. "Billy!" she called out to him._

_When Billy was busy looking around the area to find a certain person, he heard someone calling his name, as he turned around to see a familiar someone from far away. "What...?! Kujo?!" he said out of shock._

_The name "Kujo" was actually an Alias for Sumeragi, as she knew that Billy was working for the United Nations Forces, the Forces where she and the Celestial Beings fought against with before. The reason why she kept her identity a secret was because she loved him, and she would be heartbroken if he ever found out that she was a part of the Celestial Beings. "Hold on! I'm coming for you!" she said, as she ran towards him to join up with him._

_Billy, however, was alerted. "No! Kujo! Don't come near me!"_

_"What...?" she stopped suddenly, after hearing his warnings. But suddenly, she felt a presence behind her and a long katana was placed against her neck, as she froze in fear. As she slowly looked up to see who it was behind her, she was shocked to see a familiar and dangerous enemy... Fuhrer Funnel._

_Fuhrer smirked. "Oh, what's this? A young woman coming for your rescue, "Professor"? How foolish of her to come and get you without checking her surroundings..."_

_"No! Kujo! Let go of her!" Billy shouted, as he was about to run towards them._

_"One step closer, or I'll slit her throat in front of you, "Professor"!" warned Fuhrer with his smirk still attached to his face. "You see, this is what happens if you have someone close to you to come for your rescue. That young woman here is my hostage, until you make a sudden movement that will make me kill her in front of your very eyes!"_

_Sumeragi was immobilized. She was feeling scared because of the blade pressing against her throat. If Billy were to do something, she would be a goner. It was a mistake for her to come and find him... But she didn't want to leave him for dead. "Billy...! Help...!"_

_"Let go of Kujo, Fuhrer!" begged Billy, unable to see the sight of his beloved being a hostage to the enemy that he was facing against with. "What is it that you want, it's yours! All yours in exchange of Kujo's freedom!"_

_"Oh, what I wanted is not something coming from you, Billy Katagiri." said Fuhrer. "What I wanted... is to reveal you a secret. A secret about... the woman that you called "Kujo"." Upon hearing it, Sumeragi gasped, as she learned what Fuhrer's intentions are. He was going to reveal something that she had kept for herself from Billy after the many battles that they faced._

_"What...?" Billy was confused. What was he talking about? A secret about Kujo? What secret? What was he trying to say about her?_

_"Oh, come now. You encountered her so many times and you haven't even realized it? I tell you, you were oblivious when it comes to her..." Fuhrer said with a chuckle. "This woman, this "Kujo" that you called her, isn't who you think she is. She was hiding something from you..."_

_"What are you talking about?!"_

_"The woman that I am holding hostage is someone that you were fighting against with after all this time... She thought with those group of pilots who were piloting special machines capable of destroying a million units in a single blast. You remember those machines, right?"_

_Billy widened his eyes, as he quickly understood what the machines that he was talking about. "... You mean... Gundams...? And you're saying that Kujo is...?"_

_"Oh, spare me the lies that you received, "Professor". This woman isn't "Kujo", the one that you have fallen in love with. In reality, she is actually Sumeragi Lee Noriega, the Tactical Forecaster of the Celestial Beings! Your enemies!"_

_Billy still kept his eyes widened, but a new set of shock appeared inside of his eyes, as he had learn something that "Kujo" didn't want to tell him... Her involvement in the battles with the Celestial Beings, as Sumeragi. He slowly looked at her, his eyes still widened in shock. "Ku... Kujo... Is it... true...?"_

_"Billy...!" Her secret was out. Billy learned of her identity of the Celestial Beings, and she feared that he was going to loath her because of the many battles that she faced against the Nations Forces. She lvoed him... But her secret was out. And she had yet to see the outcome of the revelation._

_Fuhrer was laughing. Laughing at the reaction that Billy had. "Hah hah hah! You oblivious fool! You fell right into her trap! You helped her, and she had use that information against you to bring victory to the Celestial Beings! You are a fool to trust her as your love!"_

_Billy didn't turn his eyes away from Sumeragi, still shocked at the truth that he learned. "Kujo... You were... You were using my love... as a tool to help you and the Celestial Beings...?"_

_"No! That's not true!" she yelled out. "I truly love you, Billy! I kept the secret of me being a part of the Celestial Beings from you because I was scared that you will hate me, because of the battles that we faced against each other! I don't want to lose your love! You're the only person who I really care so much that it hurts...!"_

_"Kujo..."_

_"And besides..." Her voice was starting to break, as tears were beginning to form in her eyes. "... I wanted to settle the difference between us, Billy... I wanted to bring the balance back to the world that we are living in... I am tired of wars... I am tired of deaths... All I wanted... All that the Celestial Beings wanted... was for the peace to be brung back to the world... So that we can be together once more, Billy...!"_

_Her words... Her soothing words that begged for peace... It calmed him down from the pain that he received from the battles that he and Sumeragi were facing against. She truly loved him... And she wanted peace to their home. He couldn't hate her, no matter what. Because he loved her too. "Kujo.."_

_But Fuhrer was getting irritated by the presence of calmness and forgiveness. "Oh, spare me the romance! You forgave her that easily? Are you THAT oblivious, you fool?!" he shouted. Then, he scoffed. "Fine! If you truly loved her that much, then I will make you regret it!" With that, he and Sumeragi disappeared together from Billy's sights._

_"No...! Kujo!" he shouted, upon seeing his beloved disappeared before his eyes. He desperately looked around to see if they were anywhere in the area. "Come out! Show yourself, you monster! Let Kujo go!"_

_"If you want her, then come and find her!" said Fuhrer's voice from nowhere._

_Billy continued to look around for his beloved. Then, he spotted her, sitting somewhere far away from him. "Kujo! Hang on!" he shouted, as he ran towards her with everything he had._

_She was feeling dizzy after a while, unable to know what just happened just now. But when she saw Billy running towards her, her eyes widened in fear. "No! Billy! Don't come near me!"_

_"Don't worry! It'll only be for a sec and we'll get out of here!" he shouted, ignoring Sumeragi's fearful warning._

_As he was going closer and closer, her fear increased. "NO! You mustn't! Billy!" she tried to warn him. But he couldn't stop. As he was even more closer, she tried again for the last time. "BILLY!!!"_

_Just before he could reach her, something was thrust into his back and through his chest, as he widened his eyes in shock. Looking down, he saw a blade of a katana, which pierced through his chest so suddenly. The attack behind him... was none other than Fuhrer. He was smirking devilishly. "You are still oblivious... "Professor"..." he said._

_"NOOO!!!!"_

_Billy was struggling to move his hands up to the blade, holding onto it and attempted to push it out of him. But Fuhrer's hold was too strong. And he couldn't get it out. "Did you see that, Sumeragi? Did you see my blade piercing through your love's body?" asked Fuhrer. "This is what happens when you kept a secret from him... By keeping your identity as a Celestial Being a secret, you have led your love to his death. And here he is, with my blade piercing through his chest..."_

_As Billy was unable to push it out, he looked at Sumeragi, who had a shocking look on her face. She witnessed her love being pierced through his chest by his enemy. And he felt that his life was giving out. He made one last attempt, by reaching his hand out for her. "Ku... Kujo...!"_

_"Billy...!" Seeing his hand reaching out for her, she slowly moved her own hand up to him, in order to try and hold his hand one last time..."_

_"This, Sumeragi..." said Fuhrer suddenly, as he twisted his katana to the side. "... is your GREATEST MISTAKE!!!" He slashed through the side of Billy's body, as blood was spreading through the air. Some of the blood were splashed onto Sumeragi's face, as she saw her lover being slain by Fuhrer._

_Billy's body fell to the ground in front of her, the blood leaking out of him to form a pool of blood. She continued to stare shockingly at the fallen body of her lover. "No...! No...! Billy...!" she murmured. She reached her hand out to his body, shakingly and hesitatingly. She witnessed Billy, her love, killed in front of her eyes. "NOOOOOO!!!!!!" she screamed, as she leaned herself over to his lifeless body, sobbing largely._

_Fuhrer moved his katana, all covered in blood, in front of him, as he was satisfied with the result. "My, my... Suzuka Gongen is loving the blood of the "Professor"... This is truly a magnificent thing to have..." he said, while chuckling. He then looked down at the sobbing Sumeragi and pointed his katana at her. "As I was saying... This is all your fault, Sumeragi. Your secret led to his death. You are the true killer around here... You killed Billy Katagiri..."_

_Suddenly, her sobbing stopped. But it was replaced with a soft growl, which turned into something more violent after each passing time. "You..." she said quietly. "You...!" She then lifted her head up to him, her eyes still filled with tears, but mixed with a hatred expression on her face. "You...! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KILLED HIM!!!!" She lunged at him with all of her anger, only to be back-slapped to the face so hard, that she was sent flying to the side._

_"Although that it is true that I pierced his body, you made a mistake of coming here to rescue your beloved. And he died because of your insolence. The only one who killed him... is you and yourself, Sumeragi."_

_"Shut up!!! Don't call me his killer!!! You're responsible for EVERYTHING!!!" she screamed, as she quickly stood up from the ground and charged at him with full strength. However, she suddenly stopped, as something was piercing through his shoulder. She found his katana piercing through it, as she felt it._

_"Who's to blame here? Certainly not me. And definitely you." said Fuhrer, as he threw her off away from him with his katana, as she crashed a few feet away. He then walked over to her and pointed his katana at her body. "If you truly love him, then I will send you straight to where he is... Death." He smirked devilishly once more. "Farewell... Sumeragi Lee Noriega." However, before he could strike her down, he noticed a certain someone in front of him and dodged just as the bullet went flying at him. "Ngh...! Damn! Gundam Meisters!"_

_Sumeragi was feeling the lost of consciousness, because of the pain that was inflicted into her. She couldn't move at all. And she was losing her consciousness. The last thing that she heard before she passed out was Lockon's voice. "Miss Sumeragi! Are you alright?! Sumeragi!" Then, everything went black around her._

_End flashback_

Sumeragi stopped shaking, as she remembered everything that she locked up inside of her mind. The death of her love, Billy Katagiri... And her overwhelming sadness over his death. It felt like she was experiencing it, even now. And she was facing against... the killer of her love.

"Now you remember, Sumeragi?" asked Fuhrer one more time. "Don't say that I am the killer. You are. You're the one who led him to his death. And you tried to avenge him through your deniable action." He smirked once more. "Is that why you're here? Not only did you come here to save your allies, but is it also because... you want revenge against me?"

"... Shut up..." she quietly said, as she slowly got up from her kneeing position, grabbing her beam sword in her hand once more. "Don't ever mention the past... Don't ever mention the death of Billy... Because when you do..." As she was fully standing up, she quickly looked at him with eyes filled with anger. "I'll KILL you!" Without any warning, she charged at him with full force.

But it was a mistake in her part. As she got closer to him, he back-slapped her to the face once more straight to a tree, in which she crashed against with. "Heh heh heh... What's wrong with reminiscing of the past? I thought it was something to cherish. And you dared to attack me while reminiscing your good old past?" His smirk became wider, and more menacing by the minute. "Oh well. It will be the last time that you will ever remember the past. It's time for me to finish what I started..." He quickly struck his katana to the ground once more, as energy began to radiate from it. Several streams of shadow were coming out of the ground where she was beginning to sit up on, and they wrapped around her, just until they began to hold her tight.

"Ngh...?! What...?! What is this...?!" she gasped, trying to break free from the shadows.

"**Shadow Bind. **Break her bones into millions of pieces." he said, as he moved his hand in front of him and clenched it, resulting the shadows to tighten their hold on her, hard, which made her scream of pain, as she felt that her entire bones inside of her body were beginning to get crushed. "It will be over soon. And you will join him to where he is. The place where death occurred." Fuhrer began to laugh. He continued to crush her body until every single bone were broken into pieces.

Mika, who was still standing behind the tree, watched the scene that terrified her. Sumeragi was getting crushed by the enemy. And if she couldn't do something, Sumeragi will die. But she was afraid. Afraid to go up against an enemy that strong. She wanted to help, but she was powerless against Fuhrer. She couldn't do a single thing to help her friends...

But... She couldn't stand the sight of another friend being tortured. She had to save her.

"No! Leave her alone!" she yelled, as she stepped out of the tree that she was hidding in.

Fuhrer looked at the Chosen, as he continued to crush Sumeragi. "Oh? And why should I? You're just a small child, Chosen! And you couldn't do anything to save her with your feeble powers!"

"I said let her go! Leave my friends alone and never come back here again!"

Fuhrer laughed at the Chosen and her worthless effort. "Come on, now! How stupid can you be?! You are powerless against me! A Chosen like you deserve to die by my Suzuka Gongen! After I'm done with this weakling, I will handle you next! And then the prophecy will be DESTROYED!!!"

Mika gritted her teeth in anger, as she clenched her fists hard. She wanted him to stop... And she wanted him to leave them alone. She wanted him to go away right now. "LEAVE HER ALONE!!!" she screamed out loudly, as her body was beginning to glow.

"Huh?! What...?!" Fuhrer gasped, as he saw the Chosen glowing bright. Then, a bright, circular glyph appeared below her at the same time as energy was forming in front of her face, forming a small ball of light. "This is...?! This is a Beldam clan technique...?!"

"**RESOLUTE SPHERE!!!**" she cried out, as she shot the energy ball at him.

"Huh?!" He widened his eyes, as the energy ball was flying at him. He had no time to react, as the energy ball hit him and he was sent back far away from Sumeragi. "GRAHH!!!" he groaned at the impact of the energy ball, before he was crashing onto the ground. He did managed to regain his balance and land on the ground, stopping himself from going back even further. "What...?! How can a young child such as her be able to...?!"

The shadows that was wrapped around Sumeragi began to fade away, as she was free from their hold. She sighed of relief, as her body felt like it was being released from a torturous hold. When she looked at Mika, she saw that she was collapsing to the ground all of the sudden, the circular glyph disappearing from her. "Mika!" she shouted to her, as she ran over to her for some aid. "Hey, are you alright?! Mika!" She called her out once more, as she hold her in her arms.

Then, when she looked abck, she saw Fuhrer walking over to his katana stuck to the ground, as he grabbed the handle of it and pulled it out. She looked at Sumeragi and the fallen Chosen, as he smirked. "Heh... That was a surprise. I didn't know that she was able to use one of the Beldam clan's techniques in such age... But now that she had fallen to unconsciousness, she is not a threat to me any longer." he said.

"Ngh...!" Sumeragi gently settled Mika's body down to the ground, as she stood up from the ground to face Fuhrer once more. "I won't let you get to her, Fuhrer! Not this time!" she shouted, as she charged at him with her beam sword.

"Hmph! It's pointless to protect her, when you are losing!" he said, as he blocked her charge with his blade, sending her running to one of the trees. She stopped her charge by putting her hand on one of the trees, and she pushed herself from it to make another charge at him. He easily blocked it, as she was running to another one of the trees. She did the same thing with that one as with the last one and she made another charge at him. That process was repeated at least five times now, with her stopping herself a few feet away from Fuhrer after another charge was blocked. "You must be stupid into thinking that those charges will have an effect on me, Sumeragi!"

She was growling softly. "I can't lose this! Not when the Chosen is in danger!" she shouted, as she charged at him once more. However, suddenly, just was she was about a few inches away from him, her body suddenly felt like it was losing power. _'What...?! The effect...! It worn off...!'_

Fuhrer smirked, as he noticed the difference in power now. "What useless effort!" he said, as he kicked her off, pushing her back a little. "Looks like the effect wore off, Sumeragi. It seems that the 10 minutes are up." he said, his smirk never ceased to stop.

Sumeragi held onto her chest, groaning at the pain that she received from his kick. "Damn it...!"

"You should have bring another syringe with you, Sumeragi. It was starting to get challenging. However, with what you are becoming right now, it is starting to get bored... And quick real fast. It's all over for you, Sumeragi."

However, Sumeragi smirked. "You think so, huh, Fuhrer?"

He lifted one of his eyebrows. "Hm?"

"To tell you the truth... One syringe is all that I need. You wanna know why?" As she said that, she pulled out something from one of her pockets. A silver handle with a red button on top of it. "... Because this is all part of my plan." she said, as she pressed the button.

"What?!" he exclaimed, before several of beams began to thrust out from seven trees around him, trapping him around his body from up and down. "What is this...?! Beams...?!"

She was chuckling softly. "Yeah. That's right. Those beams are trapping you from moving any further. Touching one of them and you will feel a large burn from it. Your speed is useless when you're trapped like this."

"But how...?! How can you activated those beams without me even noticing it?!" he exclaimed. However, when he looked around the trees where the beams were deployed, he found one thing in common with them. "Those trees... They were the ones that you stopped and pushed with. And that means..."

"That's right." she said, as she nodded. "I implanted a tag mechanism on all of those trees that I've touched from high to low just to trick you into thinking that they are only helping me through my charges."

"Oh... I see." He smirked. "Your tactics never ceased to amaze me, Sumeragi. Both in space AND on the grounds."

"Thank you. But you won't get out of here that easily. The beams will only last for two hours. And it's enough time for me to get everyone out of here as soon as possible. Better luck next time, Fuhrer."

"Oh, but you are sadly mistaken, Sumeragi..." he said, his smirk once again never ceased to disappear. "There is only one flaw with that tactic, my lady..."

She raised one of her eyebrows. "What...?"

"You forgot that I have as MUCH techniques that I have in store for all of you!" As he shouted that, suddenly, wind began to fly around his body, forming an oval shape sphere, before suddenly, a huge gust of wind has occurred in every direction around him.

"What...?!" she shouted, as she felt the large gust of wind pushing against her body. She tried to hold herself steady, doing her best of not being caught up by the intense wind. "Damn it...! If this keeps up, the beams will...!" After she said that, she quickly disable the beam sword and pushed the top part of the gun back again, as she aimed it at Fuhrer and pulled the trigger, shooting a bullet. However, just as the bullet reached a few inches away from Fuhrer, it suddenly stopped and was instead flying to another direction, hitting a random tree. "What?!"

Fuhrer laughed. "Hah hah! It's no use! The winds around my body is too strong for even a power and quick object to get through it! Once the beams are out of the way, you and those pathetic people will face death!"

"Damn it...! It's no use...! There are no other tactics that I can use...!"

"Hah hah! That's right! And once I am done with you, you shall suffer the consequences that you have caused for your beloved! You will join in HELL because of the sins that you have caused on him! And everyone will join to face the same sins that they have all caused! All of you will die in misery!!! HAH HAH HAH HAH!!!" He cackled hard, as hard as he could of the joy of killing everyone and their blood will belong to Suzuka Gongen's feast. It will be a satisfying day for the both of them.

"... You..." Suddenly, both Fuhrer and Sumeragi heard a voice, coming from behind her. Sumeragi turned back to look, while Fuhrer just simply looked what was behind her. There, they saw the blond ninja standing up from the ground, his look facing the ground, hiding his expression. His right hand was still holding the sword, which still has its flamable blade. "You.. monster..." he quietly said.

"Hm? You're still standing? Why don't you just go back down, boy?"

"... What I heard... You blamed Sumeragi-san for the death... of her love...? You blamed her for the death of the one she loves...? You blamed her for the cause that she didn't do...?!"

"Are you saying that you still believe that she is innocent, even though that she killed him? You heard what I said, boy. Her mistake led him to his death. And it was all because she kept her secret away from him... Remember that, boy!"

"... No... You're wrong..."

"What?"

"You're wrong... Sumeragi-san is not the killer... She is not the one who kills her love..." As he continued to say it, his voice became louder and louder, as he was growling softly, in which the tone increased in each and every passing seconds. Then, he lifted his face up to face Fuhrer, his expression showing his anger. "It was YOU! And you will PAY for this, you bastard!" He quickly formed a cross handseal, as he shouted out, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" A clone appeared right next to him, as the original hold out his left hand, while the clones began to gather energy above it to form a spiraling sphere.

Fuhrer remembered that technique and smirked. "That again? It is indeed powerful, but it could not go through the wind surrounding my body! You will end up being flying to a random direction and hurt yourself there! If that's what you desired, then I shall GRANT it with your DEATH!!!"

"I'll show you... I'll show you the TRUE meaning of divine PUNISHMENT!!!" shouted Naruto, as he charged at Fuhrer with the **Rasengan **in hand, passing through Sumeragi.

"Naruto!!! Stop!!!" she called out to him, trying to stop him from going to his death. But it was of no use.

As Naruto reached him, he thrust his left arm towards him with the **Rasengan**. "Eat THIS!!!" he shouted. However, just as it was a few inches away from him, he felt a sudden force holding him from going through. "Damn it!! I can't...!!"

"You fool! As I told you before, nothing will break through the wind shield! Your technique is only a burden to you! This is the greatest mistake that you have ever made, Jinchuuriki of the Leaf!!!" said Fuhrer, as he cackled loudly at the failing attempt that Naruto was doing.

Naruto could feel the **Rasengan **beginning to move around, almost going off course from its target. But he couldn't give up. He couldn't. He won't forgive Fuhrer for blaming Sumeragi for everything that she didn't do. He won't forgive him for trying to kill off his friends, as well as the Chosen. It is something that he had to settle with him, in order to pay for his sins. "I won't lose... Not until... Not until I have realize my promise for SAKURA!!!"

Suddenly, the Sword of Endless Fire was beginning to glow red. And the **Rasengan **was slowly turning from blue... to fiery red. It surprised Fuhrer of the change of color of the technique. "What...?! His technique...! It changed its color?!" he exclaimed. Then, through the wind around him, he could felt the wind being pushed against him from the front, as the red **Rasengan** was pushing closer and closer. "What?! It... It got through?! But...! But how?!"

"Take THIS!!!" shouted Naruto, as he thrust his left arm one more time, before the **Rasengan** got through the wind and touched Fuhrer's body. "**Katon: RASENGAN!!!**" he shouted out the name of his Jutsu.

Fuhrer looked down at the red sphere, which touched him so suddenly. "What...?! No...!" he gasped. Then, the **Rasengan** was beging to glow bright, as an immense power was about to unleash. "What is this...?! This power...?!" It glowed brighter and brighter, until it was about to explode. "WHO ARE YOU?!?!?!?!" Then, it exploded into a fiery explosion, covering Fuhrer's entire body in a hellish flame, as he cried out of pain.

"THIS... IS TRUE PUNISHMENT!!!" shouted Naruto, as he pushed Fuhrer with all of his might, sending him flying away with the fiery flame all over him.

"AAAAHHH!!!!!" cried out Fuhrer, as he was sent flying far away from Naruto, before crashing into the ground and rolling over for a long while, with the fire still inflicting on him.

With that done, Naruto panted heavily. He panted heavily because of the power that he had unleashed against him. The power of showing Fuhrer the anger that he held inside of him because of Fuhrer's wrongful blames. And it exhausted him. He used up all of his energy on him for that one attack. And so, he collapsed to the ground.

"Naruto!" Sumeragi shouted to him, as she began to run towards him for support, just in time for the gust of wind to stop gusting around the area. As she reached up next to him, she kneed down on the ground to check up on him. "Hey... Naruto, are you alright...?" She tried to get some response out of him, but to no vital. She leaned her face closer to his head and turned her head to hear any breathing from him in her ear. Luckily, he was breathing. Heavily, but fine. She sighed out of relief. "You're alright... I'm glad..."

Then, suddenly, she heard a groan of pain somewhere in front of her. She looked up and gasped. What she saw is Fuhrer walking slowly with difficulty, with so much burnt marks all over his body, and part of his clothes being burned off by the fire from the technique. He had so much difficulty to try and stay up on the ground, that he had fallen to the ground because of the pain that Naruto had inflicted onto him. "Damn it...! Damn it all...! How could he be so powerful all of the sudden...?!" he groaned. When he looked up to see Sumeragi and the unconscious Naruto, a single thought went in mind. "... No... Don't tell me that this boy is... the "destined hope"...?!" He then let out a loud groan of pain, as he rolled over on his back. "Ngh...! I can't... keep on like this...! I have to retreat...!" Before he does it, he moved his head up to look at the two once more. "... I underestimated you... Jinchuuriki of the Leaf...! Next time we meet... I will show you... my true power...!" With that, his body suddenly disappeared, as if a mysterious force took him somewhere.

When he disappeared from sight, Sumeragi could only sigh of relief. She looked down at the unconscious Naruto and ran her hand over to his hair. She found that he received a large wound in the back, which seemed to be stop bleeding after a while. But when she looked closer, the wound was starting to heal. "What...? How can this...?" She wondered how his wound was healing already this much. It would have taken a couple of weeks for it to be fully healed. But in Naruto's case, it was getting better right now. But she ignored that now. Because Naruto is safe from harm.

"Naruto... Thank you for protecting me for everything that I have done..." she said. "... But it's really my fault... that Billy was killed... All because I hid my identity as a Celestial Being from him... But you protect me, even though that his death was caused by me... Thank you for that... And... I won't be a burden to you or to anyone else... I will try my best... to keep you all alive..."

She wasn't getting any response from him at all, not that she was expecting it. As the battle is over, it would be the time for them to get back in the Ptolemy. Considering the condition that everyone were having, she could call the medical support to help them. They really need it.

However, the battle isn't over yet. Not when the Dark Wolves are still around...

**End of Chapter**

Hey guys. It's me again, with a new chap... Well, looks like I lost my touch somewhere around the chapter, so I hope it isn't too bad. If it is, then shoot.

Well, that's all I can say for that. So Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	7. Chapter 6: To Become Stronger

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

**Jutsu/Techniques**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas and animes... But I do own the OCs.

**Chapter 6:**

**To Become Stronger**

Inside of an ominous dark room, somewhere in the room, the burnt Fuhrer was walking slowly into the room, with a large difficulty to stay up. The attack that Naruto inflicted on him really took a beating out of him. He didn't know that Naruto became that stronger already against him. He thought for sure that he will defeat everyone with only half of his strength. But he underestimated Naruto. And there he was, all burned up from the attack. "Damn it...! Damn Jinchuuriki...! How could he have defeated me with such feeble strength...?!" he groaned, as he struggle to stay up. However, in the end, he fell to the ground in front of him, as the upper part of his body reached the circular light, where the three of them usually meet up for a briefing. "I swear...! I will kill him the next time we meet...!"

As he struggled to get back up from the ground, his sights set on a pair of boots, standing in front of him. As he looked up, he gasped quietly, as he saw the black-haired man standing in his view. "Hmph... It seems that you were having a large difficulty in your mission, Fuhrer." he said.

"My lord...! Help me...! I can't move because of these burns...!"

"Don't worry." he replied. "I already sent out a medical corp to bring you in to heal you. I had a feeling that you were going to be injured during that mission."

Fuhrer continued to struggle to get up. Then, he heard a slight chuckle from behind. That same chuckle that was coming from a certain pink-haired woman. "Well, look at you, Fuhrer. All beaten up while you were doing a simple mission to check out the sudden energy readings." said Rhonda, smirking down at the defeated warrior. "It was your chance to kill one of the heroes of the prophecy and now, look what we got. A fool who is burned down during his battle. You're hopeless, Fuhrer."

"Grr...! Shut up, woman...! Once I am recovered, I'll make you regret trying to make a fool out of me...!" Fuhrer growled.

The black-haired man sighed. "Alright, you two. That is enough. He failed his mission, but that is only one. There are many others that we can accomplish in the future very soon." As he said that, he turned around to walk away from the lighted spot.

"Wait...! My lord...!" said Fuhrer, as he reached his hand out to him. "There is something... that I need to tell you about... that Jinchuuriki that I fought...!"

"Uzumaki Naruto?" asked the black-haired man, who still had his back facing at the two. "What about him? What did you discover?"

"While... I was fighting against him... He was simply a bug the first time... I struck him down and attempted to kill him once and for all...! But...!" He let out a soft groan, before he continued. "When he got up... His power... It increased...! He defeated me, even though... he is weak...! I came to an conclusion about him...! That he... might be the "destined hope"...!" That got the black-haired man's attention, as he turned his head back to look at him. "We have to... kill him at all cost... before he will put an end to the Dark Wolves...! We have to kill both him... and the Chosen One...! He is a threat to us all...!"

The black-haired man just simply stood there, staring at the defeated warrior. Then, he sighed. "... This is why I said to never underestimate the heroes of the prophecy, Fuhrer."

"What...?"

"You forgot. It is only natural for Naruto to become stronger all of the sudden. Because he's one of the heroes of the prophecy. And his strength is the reason why the Eclipsian chose him as one of the saviors of the world. Naruto defeating you with his new found strength doesn't mean that he's the destined hope, as you concluded on him."

Rhonda scoffed. "Yeah. That's right. You thought that that kid is the destined hope all because he defeated you, when you only used half of your strength. You poorly underestimated him, Fuhrer. Maybe that's why the lord chose me as his right-hand lady."

Fuhrer growled at her softly once more. "Shut up, you bitch...!"

"Why don't you make me, you fool?" she taunted him, as she smirked.

The black-haired man sighed once more. "I said that's enough, you two. I don't want an argument between my two right-hand warriors just because of that. We will get him next time. And we will not underestimate him any longer." Just in time, two Aerogater beings appeared behind Rhonda, as they went over to the fallen warrior and picked him up on one shoulder each.

"My lord...!" said Fuhrer to him. "Forgive me... I will no longer look down on that Jinchuuriki next time... I will put an end to him with all I have got...! Just watch...!"

The black-haired man smirked at him, as he nodded. "Don't worry. You will not make the same mistake twice."

"Heh heh heh..." Fuhrer chuckled quietly, before he disappeared along with the two beings.

After that they left, the black-haired man looked back to where he was facing. "We have failed to intercept Naruto... But there are others out there that the Celestial Beings still haven't found yet. We will find them, and kill them with the chances we got."

"But my lord..." said Rhonda, as she stepped in the lighted spot of the room. "Neither of us can't leave the base for the time being. And Fuhrer is out of commission to heal himself for a long while. How can we be able to intercept the other heroes of the prophecy?"

"Not to worry, my dear..." he replied. "There are others." In response to that, a sound of a gate being opened was heard behind the two of them. as Rhonda turned around to see who is coming. In the dark corners of the room, six figures stood in front of the two in response of his words. The black-haired man turned around to look at them all. "Right on time. I called you here because all of you have a mission to do. Find the heroes of the prophecy and kill them, before the Celestial Beings have the chance to find them first. Don't hold back by any means necessary."

"With my strength." said a male figure.

"My deception." said a female figure, who giggled rather menacingly.

"My tactics." said another male figure.

"My magic." said another female figure.

"My speed." said the last male figure.

"And my ability." said the last female figure.

The black-haired man smirked. "Very well. You are all dismissed and begin your mission around the world now." He received a nod from all of them, as they disappeared from the room suddenly. "Let us see how powerful the other heroes are..."

----------

"Yowch!" yelled out Naruto in pain, as he felt a sharp pain coming out from his back. "Hey, not so tight...! My wound is still a little fragile, you know...!"

"Then hold still already, kiddo." said Lockon, as he had a hard time wrapping the bandages around Naruto's back, since he was moving too much. "I can't fix it up well if you're still moving like this."

Right now, the team were currently inside of a room that is specifically for the injured people, like Naruto, with his wound on his back. The others had only minor injuries somewhere on them, as Shikamaru had a few band-aids on his face, along with both Tieria and Karin, although Karin had her right hand wrapped up in bandages, because of her hand bone being broken. In Hinata's case, she had her forehead being wrapped up in bandages because of the damage that Fuhrer had inflicted on her face. But luckily, the head skull remained in good condition. Naruto has been placed on a bed, as Lockon was trying to conceal the wound on his back. Mika was also lying on a bed, even though she received no minor injuries. That room is one of the places where the gravity is normal, even though they're in space.

"Although, come to think of it..." started Lockon, as he took another look at Naruto's wound. "The wound looks really big. With the wound that big, we will surely die from it. But it's pretty amazing that you managed to survive that, regardless of how big it is."

Naruto chuckled, as he let out his trademark grin. "Well, I'm special in a sort of way. That wound isn't enough to kill me. In fact, I had worst before." He said, as he moved his hand to back of his head and scratched. Then, he felt another stinging pain on the back. "Ow! Hey, I said not so tight...!"

"And I said hold still already. I can't work well when you're still moving."

Within the group, Shikamaru sighed of relief. "Well, we're lucky to stay alive from that battle. That guy is really strong. And I can't believe that you defeated him with the **Rasengan**, Naruto." he said.

"However, we couldn't hope to defeat him the next time we face him." said Tieria. "It seemed that Fuhrer was only using half of his strength. And he underestimated us, which led him to be defeated by Naruto because of his incompetence. But the next time we meet, he won't show mercy to us anymore."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "Yes... He is very dangerous... And neither of us stand a chance against him, if... he unleashes his true strength... We're not as powerful as he is... And we will surely die, if we meet him again..."

"Yeah... You're right..." said Naruto, as he looked down to the bed sheet. "Today is just lucky... We're lucky when he only used half of his powers... But neither of us can defeat him with our current level..."

Lockon nodded. "We still have a long way to go... So we have to get stronger real quick, if we hope to stand a chance against Fuhrer or even one of the members of the Dark Wolves equally." he said. Just at that moment, he was done bandaging Naruto's back in perfect place. "There we go! All wrapped up nicely, Naruto!"

Naruto smiled at him. "Thanks, Lockon. It feels better already."

"Well, in a couple of weeks, your back will be as good as new." he said, as he slapped Naruto's back hard... In which it inflicted a major pain to his back.

"Yowch!" yelled out Naruto. "Hey! Don't slap my back like that, Lockon! It really hurts!"

"Oh, that's right!" said Lockon in realization, which led him to laugh. "I forgot that you're still fragile right now, unlike the last battle! Hah hah!" Everyone else joined up with the laugh, as Naruto began to pout at the people who laughed at him playfully.

Next to his bed, Mika was smiling a little at the group, as she was glad to see them all safe from harm. She was a little surprised before, when she heard that naruto defeated Fuhrer with one of his techniques. She wouldn't think of anything less from one of the heroes of the prophecy. Then, Karin came in next to her bed, as she looked at her with caring eyes. "Hey, are you alright, Mika?"

"Oh, yeah. Of course I'm alright. I'm not really that injured like you guys are." she replied with a small smile.

"Are you sure? Sumeragi said that you passed out when you used a technique on Fuhrer. Don't you feel anything unusual about yourself?"

Mika shook her head. "No. I'm still fine, as I was before. But what about you? Is your right hand feeling alright?" she asked, showing concern for the ex-member of Team Hawk about her injuries.

"Ah, it's fine! It's only broken a little, but after a few weeks or so, it'll be alright. Thanks for your concern about me, Mika." Karin replied with a soft smile, in which the Chosen smiled back.

After a while, Lockon got up from the bed and began to walk away. "Alright. Since I'm done here, I'm gonna go somewhere for a while."

"Where are you going, Lockon?" asked Naruto.

"What else? To see Miss Sumeragi. That's all."

"Is there something wrong with her?" asked Shikamaru, as he began to get a little curious of the reason why Lockon was going to see her. However, he wasn't getting a reply from the brown-haied Gundam Meister, as he kept silent from the question. Shikamaru turned to look at Tieria, whose face showed a little sadness. He understood that he mustn't learn about it, and to keep it a secret. "I understand. Sorry for asking about her condition."

Lockon turned to Shikamaru and smiled. "It's alright. It's better to not learn about it than to learn it, only to be affected by that. It's something that she wants to keep it personally from anyone, except for us Celestial Beings." he said. Shikamaru nodded to him, as he nodded back. "Take good care of yourselves, everyone. And don't rush yourself too much, Naruto. Or else, the wound will open again."

Naruto nodded. "Got it. Don't worry about me!" he said, as he let out his usual grin. Lockon nodded and left the room, leaving the others be. As he left, Naruto's grin was turned into a frown, as he remembered what happen to Sumeragi during the battle against Fuhrer. "Sumeragi-san..."

----------

Somewhere in the Ptolemy, inside of a certain room, Sumeragi was seen standing in front of the shelves, which holds some of the items that she kept on as a reminder of the fond memories that she had, inside of her white room. On one of the shelves, there stood a picture frame, showing a picture of two people standing in front of the camera, smiling. It was Sumeragi and Billy Katagiri. She grabbed the frame in her hand and picked it up, looking at it with fond eyes.

The battle that she faced back there remembered the past. The past that she swore not to remember it, which caused her great pain and sadness. But because of Fuhrer's tauntings, she remembered it. She remembered well... And she still hadn't given up on it. "Billy..." she said quietly at the name of her lover in the picture.

Suddenly, the room of her room was slid open, revealing Lockon who entered it with the permission of the Tactical Forecaster. "Miss Sumeragi... Are you alright?" he asked, concern of her situation.

She looked at the Gundam Meister and nodded, giving him a simple smile. "I'm fine... Just remembering something from the past. That's all."

Lockon could only frown at the memory that she had remembered it. "Miss Sumeragi... About that... I'm sorry..."

"No, no! You did nothing wrong, Lockon. It's alright. I'm fine." she said, as she waved her hand at him to try and make him understand that it wasn't his fault.

"I know... But... If I have gone with you to help him... He would have at least lived... And that you two will still live a happy life with one another..."

"But... If you have gone with me... You would have been killed along with Setsuna and Allelujah..."

"I know... But you deserved to be happy with him. You deserved to live with him. I would have done everything I can to save him, at the cost of my own life, so you two can live happily together..."

"Lockon..." She could feel how much Lockon wanted her to be happy. At the time when she had experienced the death of her love, he was one of the people who felt really sad about the loss of her beloved Billy. Billy was the enemy... But even enemies had a chance to be together for a lifetime. But it was too late now... All of the team's efforts were for nothing. "... Thank you for your concern... But it's far too late for me... And for him..."

"I know..."

She thought about something. What was it that they were fighting for? What was really the Celestial Beings' mission? To bring back the peace of their world? If so... Why were they fighting? Why were they fighting for the sake of peace? The war against their enemies only led the world to be in great tragedy... "Lockon... Do you think what we're doing... is right?"

"What do you mean?"

"The past... When we were told to bring back the peace of our world, by eliminating those who were trying to ruin the nature of our world... Are we really fighting for peace?"

When she said that, Lockon could tell what they were doing before. Their orders were to bring peace to the world... But now that he thought about it. "... I don't know... But... I think our war against our enemies... Only led the world to more destruction and sadness. Our war resulted in the many terrorists attacks, many grieving and deaths... And many vengeance against the world... So... What I think about this... We're fighting to bring back the peace of our world... But we only made the world even worst than before..."

Sumeragi nodded in confirmation, as she looked back down to the picture that she was holding. "... The Celestial Beings were formed, in order to stop those who were going to destroy our world... But I never realized... that the only one who are destroying it... is us..."

"... I understand what you mean, Sumeragi..."

"... If the Celestial Beings were never formed before... Do you think that the world will be at peace, even with all those negative actions occurring in it?"

Lockon thought about it... And shook his head. "No... Our world will never be at peace... With and without the Celestial Beings... The world that we lived in... is rotten. No matter how far you go in restoring the peace, there are still some ways that will disturb it and bring more tragedy into it. Our world is rotten... And nothing we can do can stop the tragedy that keeps on occurring in it..."

"... And without us... His death will still occur..." When she said it, her voice was beginning to break. And a drop of tear fell onto the picture frame, landing directly on Billy's face in the picture. Sumeragi's eyes were beginning to form tears in them, as the inevitable death of her love will never be escaped, even if they could travel back in time to change the future. His death will never be escaped... And her heart will never be fixed from it. "... How could I let this happen to him...? I loved him with all of my heart... And I led him to his death... And nothing I can do will bring him back... This is something that I can never undo... And nothing will make me forget about him..."

As more tears fell onto the picture frame, Lockon placed his arm around her shoulders, his eyes showing concern for her. She slowly looked at him with her eyes still filled with tears. And without any warning, she moved herself on him and buried her face on his chest, as she sobbed freely, letting out her pain and sadness of everything that occurred to her. Lockon hugged her to bring comfort to her. But he couldn't cure her heart from the tragedy of her love. They have lost two of their precious comrades... And she lost her love. He didn't want the same deaths to happen again.

"... I want to be stronger..." he said. "Stronger... to protect our friends... To protect everyone that we cared about... I can't let them go through the same tragedy again..."

----------

A while later, after Shikamaru, Hinata, Karin and Tieria left the room, the purple-haired Gundam Meister returned inside of it to see how the two are doing. "How are you feeling, Chosen One?" he asked Mika, showing concern in his voice.

"Oh, I'm fine. Thanks, Tieria." she replied with a smile.

He nodded. "It's good to hear that. I was worried that you would end up being killed in the battle that we have faced before. I'm just glad that you are alright, and that you haven't suffer any injuries on yourself."

She nodded. "At first... I thought that I was going to die... That I was going to be the first one to be killed by an enemy such as him... But here I am, still alive... All because you and everyone else protect me from me... You did everything you could to stop him..."

"Indeed... But if I wasn't that strong right now... And that I didn't receive help from Veda... I would be unable to protect you from him... And that you would have died... But I'm glad that it wasn't the case. And I am glad that you are still alive and with us right now."

She continued to smile at him. In fact, there was something a little odd about the way he spoke to her like his harsh words from before, his words right now showed concern for her safety. She giggled slightly, as she was able to understand what he was feeling right now. "This is the first time that I heard you talk like that. And to me, as well."

Tieria realized what he was saying, and he blushed a little, as he turned away from her to hide it. "D... Don't you dare try to think that I'm soft...! It isn't because of that that I became a Gundam Meister of the Celestial Beings...!"

She continued to giggle at his attempt to hide his soft spot. "If you say so, Tieria..."

He continued to hide his blush from the Chosen One by turning his head to the sides, until he noticed something is missing. The bed next to Mika is empty... Meaning that Naruto wasn't there anymore. "Wait, where's Naruto?"

"Oh, him? He said that he was going to take a stroll around the ship..."

"And you didn't stop him?"

"I tried to tell him that he's still recovering from his wound. But he wouldn't listen..."

Tieria sighed. "That idiot..." he murmured. He didn't want the Jinchuuriki to injure himself again by opening his wound because of his simple stroll. After all, he is one of the heroes of the prophecy. And keeping him safe is one of his top priority. "I'll go get him, whenever he wants to or not." he said, before he left the room.

He began his search for the Jinchuuriki by traveling through the halls, as well as checking each of the rooms for any sign of a certain blond. He was getting annoyed by Naruto's decision to stroll around the ship, when he was still recovering from his wound. It was really a troublesome thing to do for him.

He spent a while searching through the halls in rooms for the Jinchuuriki, but to no luck. "Damn it. Where is that childish idiot?" he said. Out of all the people who got on board of the Ptolemy, Naruto is the only one who he deemed to be someone who annoyed him a lot for a while. However, by passing by a certain large door, he heard a shout of effort. He stopped moving through the halls upon hearing it. Then, there came another shout, in which it came from behind the large door. As he turned to look at it, he remembered it as a training room for people who are experienced in fighting alone, without a mech. "Don't tell me that he's...?" There was one way to find out. He entered the room to see if Naruto is really in there.

The inside of the room is very large, fit for a lot of people who wanted to train themselves to be good at fighting on the grounds. There are a variety of weapons in their disposal, such as wooden swords, rods and many more of those weapons. Currently, they were no one inside of it... Except for a certain blond Shinobi, who is practicing his sword skills with the Sword of Endless Hellfire. Like the room before, this room's gravity is normal, just like on Earth. While the Jinchuuriki was training, he noticed the purple-haired Meister entering, a little far away from him. "Oh! Hey, Tieria! What's up?"

"Naruto, what are you doing?!" Tieria shouted. "Why are you training in here when your wound is still not fully healed yet?!"

"Ah, I just felt like training. I went around the ship to see if there's any place where I can train at my best. And I'm lucky to found this room as a training room! Man, you guys sure have a lot of stuff inside of the ship!" Naruto said with a grin on his face.

Tieria wasn't liking this, and he wanted to get Naruto out of the room so he can be healed without anything to hurt himself again. "Naruto, you have to come back to the resting room to get your wound to heal. If you continue to train like this any longer, you'll open your wound again!"

"Ah, no thanks! I'm staying here for as long as I want!" Naruto declined. "Besides, the wound is getting better already. So I won't injure myself any longer than that! Just see for yourself!" As he said that, he resumed his training by practicing his sword skills, slashing at the empty air for a few times, before trying to make some movements that will increase his attack power and evasive counterattack.

Tieria sighed. Naruto wasn't going to give up. But if that was what he wanted, then he should just leave him be. "Fine. If you're sure of yourself. I'll leave you be until further notice." he said, as he turned around to walk away from the room.

However, Naruto stopped his training all of the sudden, as he called out to Tieria. "Hey, Tieria?" The Meister turned to look at the Jinchuuriki, who seemed to have a serious expression on his face. "... There's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

Naruto took a moment, to think about that, then he spoke it out. "Is there something... that you wanted to protect?"

The Meister stayed silent, when he asked him of that. Now that he mentioned it... Was there anything that he wanted to protect? After all his time, being a Gundam Meister to fight in wars... Is there anything he wanted to protect? Anything at all? "Hm... Currently, no... Not now, anyway." he replied. "What about you? Is there something that you wanted to protect?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah... Sakura-chan..."

"Ah yes. That's right. The girl who you made a promise with..."

He nodded again. "You wanna know why I just couldn't stay still and train here?" This time, Tieria nodded in response. "... When I fought against Fuhrer... Against one of the members of the Dark Wolves... I can feel myself being overwhelmed by his power... The power that is even stronger than a Hokage... If I don't train now... I will never be able to defeat any of the members of the Dark Wolves..."

"... Is that so?"

"Yeah... Not only that, but... There is something else..." As Naruto said it, he looked down to his sword, remembering something that Fuhrer spoke of his sword, about its powers...

_"It was known as the weapon that slayed many monsters. A legendary weapon forged by the great fire God himself, Ifrit. Its power is overwhelming, and any who dares to face the wielder of the sword recklessly will feel the burning wrath of it. However, now that I clashed with it, I notice a huge disadvantage at your side... You haven't unleashed its TRUE POWER!!!"_

That was what he said. If that was true, then Naruto hasn't unleashed all of its powers yet. With what he is now, would he hope to defeat the Dark Wolves with the current power he has right now? "... I have to become stronger to unleash all of the Sword of Endless Hellfire's powers. I used one of its powers by luck. And if I don't learn all of them, I wouldn't be a good wielder for it. And I will shame the fire God, Ifrit, of my current strength..."

"... I see." Tieria understood why Naruto is training there. He wanted to become stronger to defeat the Dark Wolves, to unleash all of his weapon's powers so that he could be even against them. But... Are these two the only reason why he wanted to become stronger? "To become stronger... What is the true reason of it?"

"... To become stronger... I have to be stronger to realize my promises... To bring back Sasuke who is trapped inside of the darkness... To bring back Sakura-chan who joined his darkness out of her own will and regret... To become stronger... To become stronger to protect her! I want to be stronger to protect Sakura-chan from anyone! Even those Dark Wolves bastards! And I won't hold back my promises... Because that is my Nindo. My Ninja Way!"

Tieria could sense the large presence of determination in Naruto's spirit. To keep his promise... He has to do anything to realize them. He won't fall back from anything. Not until his promises are realized. Tieria smiled. "... If that's what you truly desire, then let's try it out." he said, as he began to walk over to a few set of wooden swords that were placed on the wall. He pulled off two of them and threw one of them at Naruto, who caught it with surprise.

"Huh? What's this about?"

"If you wanted to become stronger, then it is only right for me to train you to increase your sword skills." Tieria said, as he walked over in front of Naruto, just until they were a few feet away from each other. "You are really determined to become stronger just for the sake of a single girl... And I will help you to achieve that goal. So until then, I will train you through every sword skills that I know." he said, as he began to move to his fighting position with the wooden sword. "Now prepare!"

Naruto looked at the Meister with disbelief eyes, but then, he grinned. As he withdrew his sword, turning it into a simple kunai, he moved to his fighting position with his own wooden sword. "Alright. Then go ahead and teach me everything... Tieria-senpai!"

----------

Meanwhile, inside of the resting room, Mika was still lying on her bed, as she thought about what happened during that battle. She saw everyone being defeated by a single warrior, and she also saw the Jinchuuriki almost being killed by him. And by luck, the Tactical Forecaster came in to save them all, with a trick up in her sleeve. And when the Chosen was going to help her... Something unexpected happened. She suddenly unleashed one of her clan's technique and attacked Fuhrer with it. But... That technique... She didn't think that she would be able to use it, with how much weaker her powers are. Was it a sign? Was it a sign for her to help her allies?

"Father... Was it you that made me use the Beldam clan's technique...?" she asked. There was no one around other than herself. And she thought that she could be able to speak with her father even though that he was somewhere in Heaven. But it was clear to her now... That he wanted her to become stronger, in order to help her precious friends and allies. If that was the case, then she mustn't falter.

"Father... Lend me your strength... And I promise... I will grow stronger to protect my friends... As Chosen One of Eclipsia, I will complete my mission to save the world from danger! With the heroes of the prophecy!"

Everyone has the desire to become stronger through different means. And they will succeed, as their determination grows stronger and stronger...

**End of chapter**

Hey guys. It's me again, with another quick chapter! Well, there you have it. This is the prologue of the upcoming adventure. With everyone having the desire to grow stronger, they will do anything to achieve their goal. Well, I've written all of those chapters, and it's time for Naruto's adventure to be on hold for the time being. The next chapter will show a different character this time around, as it is his turn to experience his time in the fusioned world. I mean, come on. You don't honestly thought that Naruto is going to take all the spotlight for himself, do you?

Well, that's all I can say for that. So Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	8. Chapter 7: Vizard

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

**Zanpakuto/Technique**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes.

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Japan... One of Asia's powerful countries. Japan is where many events had happened around 500 years ago. A country where samurais fight, where a goal of unifying the country was set, and where the origins of Japan was told here. Wars had started in there, and it was ceased to continue, when the land has been unified as one. It was all thanks to Oda Nobunaga, and his trusted followers.

But in the fusion universe that our heroes were involved in, Japan was the only country in Asia to be stayed in the fusioned world. And there existed a hero who had seen what happened to the world, and the sudden malevolent energy was spreading throughout the world. In order to find the person responsible for it, one man decided to go off on another journey to stop that person. That man is a young High School student who was being involved in a strange phenomenon that occurred after he had the ability to see wandering spirits. There, he had met a young lady in a black hakama, fighting a monstrous being, resulting in her to be critically injured. With that, the young lady lend out some of her powers to that man, in which he suddenly absorbed all of it, becoming a single being that the Eclipsian had called him... The Substitute Shinigami.

In a present time, somewhere in the grassy field far away from his hometown, Karakura Town, Kurosaki Ichigo, an orange-haired boy in a black hakama, with a large sword on his back, was walking through the field, as he began his journey to find the person responsible of the phenomenon that occurred in his home. Ever since he felt that sudden evil aura, as well as the sudden change of color in the sky, which turned into blood red, Ichigo had the need to leave the town for a while to find the person who caused the sudden change. It could take a long time... If he wasn't hurrying enough.

Accompany him were 5 people, who were walking beside him to follow him on his journey. One of them is Kuchiki Rukia, a young, black-haired lady wearing the same black hakama as him, as well as having a katana sheathed to the side of her hip. She was the first Shinigami that Ichigo encountered, and the one who gave him all of her powers so suddenly so he could protect his family. After she had spent in the human world for too long, she was sent back to the Soul Society, a world where souls lived in the afterlife, in order to be executed, by the commander-chief's rule. However, Ichigo rescued her in time and her life was safe... For now.

The other one is another Shinigami, a red-head named Abarai Renji. He was Rukia's childhood friend and he was a little more or less of a powerful Shinigami. Aside from him wearing the same hakama as the two of them, and having a katana sheathed to his side, he had some kind of a tattoo somewhere around his body. He was the first Shinigami that Ichigo fought against and defeated, on two occasions. At first, Renji blamed Ichigo for the execution of Rukia, but when Ichigo defeated him, he realized that it was meant to happen a long time ago. Now, the two of them are allies, who would sometimes bicker at one another if things started to get annoying.

The other female is named Inoue Orihime, a long, auburn-haired human female who received spiritual powers when she was closest to Ichigo. And up-beat girl who cares for her friends and is willing to defend them at any cost. She had six fairy-like spirits who aided her through different combination of different techniques, attacking, defending and healing. Unbeknown to Ichigo and the others, she holds small feelings for Ichigo, who was the one responsible for her having the spiritual abilities. She was willing to follow him to aid him and the others, when things get rather rough. Currently, she was wearing her usual, red T-shirt, as well as a pair of gray pants with a red line on each of the sides.

The other boy is known as Ishida Uryuu, a short, black-raven-haired Quincy who was the last of his race. When he first met Ichigo, who expressed his hatred for the Shinigamis, as they did not saved his grandfather in time. He challenged Ichigo to a battle to see who kills the most Hollows, until he realized the amazing power that Ichigo possessed. Following on, he was training himself to improve his Quincy skills, by obtaining a new power that he will use, in order to help Ichigo to rescue Rukia. However, after he fought against Kurosutchi Mayuri, with his last resort, he lost his Quincy powers. But even so, he joined Ichigo in his quest to find the person responsible for the phenomenon, even without them. The reason why is about to reveal soon. Currently, he was wearing a summer school uniform.

The last one is a large boy, known as Sado Yasutora, also known as Chad. He is a baggy, brown-haired Mexican who was born in Okinawa, but being taken to Mexico at a young age. Just like Orihime, he received spiritual powers, because of his involvement with Ichigo. An armored arm who can deal a powerful blow, if not taken too seriously. When they went on a quest to rescue Rukia, Chad joined Ichigo because he felt that he owed him something in return, saving him just as Ichigo saved him before. In the group, he is the most powerful ally. He was currently wearing a sleeveless, pale blue shirt with a red line on his left, as well as a pair of black jeans.

It had been a few hours, after they gathered everyone to aid them on their new quest. So far, they found nothing in Karakura Town, not even in the outskirts. The demonic energy is everywhere, so no one can tell where is it exactly. Ichigo could only let out a soft sigh. "Man... It's too hard to find the location of that demonic energy. It's everywhere, and we can't tell for sure which way it is." he said.

"I agree." Rukia nodded. "This is nothing like we have ever experienced before. We can tell that someone is behind it, according the energy that we're sensing. But The energy is spreading everywhere around the world. It's not going to be easy to find him with the world being polluted with dark energy."

"Um... Kurosaki-kun...?" asked Orihime, who had a feeling to ask Ichigo about the quest that they were going through. "Are you sure that we have to find that certain someone? With the power being polluted with an ominous energy, I'm a little scared that he might be stronger than us. Maybe stronger than a Captain..."

"Ah, don't sweat it, Inoue-san." he replied, as he turned to look at her. "We can just try our best to take care of him as soon as possible. If he's that strong, we'll just have to retreat and think of another plan to take care of him. Although, now that I think about it..." As he said that, he looked at the two Shinigamis behind him. "... I don't understand why the Soul Society only sent out the two of you. Why can't the Captains take care of it?"

Rukia shrugged. "I guess they were having a little too much time in hand. If you're thinking that they should sent out all of the Shinigamis to take care of it, then I understand why they only sent out the two of us in the human world. They don't wanna waste any more of the Shinigamis in pure danger. So, the three of us are the only Shinigamis to handle the job right now."

"Well, it's a pain in the ass." said Renji. "But if Rukia is going to do it, then I had to join her to keep her safe. It's my duty for the time being."

Rukia turned her head towards Renji, as she smirked. "You know that I can take care of myself. So you don't have to worry about me through this kind of mission."

Renji chuckled. "Sorry. But that's my vow since a long time ago."

"By the way..." started Ichigo, as he turned his head towards the powerless Quincy. "... Why did you join us, Uryuu? I thought that you lost your Quincy powers."

"I have." replied Uryuu. "But it is only necessary for me to help you guys to go through it all, with every possible way that I can do. So instead of fighting alongside you, I'll provide medical support when the time is right."

"Um... Ishida-kun, did you forget that I can heal people? Not to be rude or anything..." said Orihime.

"I know. But if we were to be in separate groups, I can provide to cure you guys. It's not much, but it's the least I can do."

Chad nodded. "It is nice for you to try and help us through that, Ishida."

"Well, anyway..." said Ichigo, as he stretched his arms up to relieve them from being cripple too much. "... It's good to know that you guys are willing to follow me through here. You don't have to, if you don't want to, you know. But since you guys are determined about this, then there's nothing to be afraid of. As long as we have each other by our side, then everything is possible. Right, guys?" He turned his head back to look at his friends and smiled at them. He received a nod from all of them. With a nod of confirmation, he turned his head back in front. "Alright. Let's do our best to find that bastard, where ever he's hiding!"

"Alright!" said everyone. And so, Ichigo and his friends continued their way through the plains, determined to find the source of the malovent energy that has been spreading around.

However, unknown to anyone, somewhere far away from them, a mysterious person was watching the group from afar, as he sat on one of the branches of the tree. His sight was only set on a certain orange-haired Shinigami. "Kurosaki Ichigo..." he said, as he smirked. "I have finally found you... But in the worst possible time yet."

**Chapter 7:**

**Vizard**

It had been a while since they have left Karakura Town to go search for the person responsible for that large cause out in the outskirt. The Substitute Shinigami and his friends weren't going to stop for anything, until they find him and bring an end to that phenomenon. To be quite honest for the others, that wasn't your every-day journey, just by traveling through the land for some quest and all. That was something that the group has to put a stop into it. If the phenomenon keeps up, they couldn't even imagine the worst possible outcome of the world.

However, suddenly, they heard a rather faint, but large growling noise coming from somewhere within the group, as they stopped at the sound of it. "Oh... Oh yeah..." said Ichigo, as he ran one of his hand to his stomach, feeling a little embarrassed to let out that kind of noise from his stomach. "I forgot that I haven't eaten anything this morning... I was going to go eat with you guys, but with that strange and dangerous phenomenon here and all..."

"Yeah, I get what you're saying." said Renji. "I had to skip breakfast when that phenomenon occurred and followed Rukia to the human world. If only I had eaten half of it, then went along with you guys..."

"Maybe it's time for us to rest and have something to eat." said Uryuu, as he adjusted his glasses in a way to be decisive. "It's a good thing I packed some food before we left Karakura Town. I brought some home-made sandwiches that is more than enough for everyone."

"Oh! I brought some food too! It's a good thing that I packed some of them too!" Orihime said cheerfully, as she removed her small bag, that was on her back that whole time when they were traveling, and slid her hand inside of him, attempting to take out some of the food that she brought.

"What did you bring, Orihime?" asked Rukia, curious to know what her friend brought for everyone.

As she continued to go through the many stuff in her bag, her hand grabbed a hold on a trio of plastic bags. "Ah! Got it!" she exclaimed, as she pulled out one of them. What she brought was a plastic bag, in which we could see the food inside. As everyone looked to see the food, there was something... rather odd about it.

Inside of it was a bunch of cookies... Which were coated in frozen chocolate and... some kind of red spice around them... Red spice? That didn't look really good, since it was all according to Orihime's taste in... "Uh... Inoue?" asked Ichigo. "What... did you bring?" At the sight of the cookies, Ichigo couldn't say anything else, but to repeat Rukia's question.

"Well, I brought a bunch of chocolate coating cookies with extra spice for an extra punch on the tongue! It really gives you a great feeling of being energized by the mixture of chocolate and spicy flavor! It's really good to stay up for the job! Oh! And there's another one!" she said, as she put her hand back inside of her bag, to pull out another plastic bag, with a different food, this time. "This one here is a couple of cake pickle sandwich! An extraordinary mixture of both sweet and sour at the same time! This one is one of my personal favorites! Oh, and one more thing!" Once again, she put her hand back inside of her bag and pulled out the last plastic bag. "This is what I liked to call my Special Inoue Apple Chesse Slice with ketchup and mustard! The taste of apple, cheese, ketchup and mustard will lighten your senses and will make you get ready for anything! And I made all of those myself! Pretty sweet, right?"

The others could only stared at the food that she brought and made in disbelief. They looked like... Something a caveman can eat. Or even... a squid. The looks of those food could only make them feel sick in their head. Even more sick, if they ever tried to eat it, and they might end up throwing up. "Uh... You made them... all, Orihime?" asked Rukia, her eyes still fixing on the weird foods. "That's... impressive..."

"... Say, Ichigo...?" Renji slowly started to ask the orange-haired Shinigami. "... Is it always like this with you humans...?"

"... In Inoue's case, I don't think so..." he replied.

Chad kept quiet about it, as he was unable to say anything that could make him forget about how... weird her foods are. Uryuu, who didn't want to try and have a taste on any of her food, decided to try and satisfy everyone's appetite. "Maybe you should eat them, Inoue-san... The rest of us can eat my home-made sandwiches." he said, trying not to break her feelings.

"Oh. Alright!" she replied cheerfully, showing no sign of sadness. "I guess it's more for me, then!" And so, she randomly chose one of the foods and began to eat them, which, by far, didn't really faze her.

"... Inoue... You really are special, in a sort of way..." said Ichigo, still in disbelief.

After staring at her eating her "special" food for a short while, Uryuu cleared his throat a little, drawing attention to the others. "Let's just try and dig in, shall we?" Everyone nodded. And so, Uryuu pulled out a pack of wrapped up sandwiches out of his own bag, a total of 6, to be exact. Everyone took one of them each, leaving only one open for everyone else.

"Hey, can I have the extra one?" asked Ichigo, as he reached his hand over to the last sandwich.

"Hey, hey, hey! I get this one first." Renji said, as he pushed Ichigo's hand away from it.

"What? Oh come on! I asked first!"

"So? Isn't one sandwich enough for you?"

"Well, isn't it for you?"

"Well, whatever! I get the extra one!"

"No way! I said I asked first!"

"This isn't about who asked first or not, Strawberry!"

"Says who, you tattooed moron!"

"Do you wanna fight me for it?!"

"Is that a challenge?!"

And then, that start of the two Shinigamis', yet, another nonsense bickering. As their forehead were locked against each other, as they growled at each other to seize the last sandwich, Uryuu, Chad and Rukia were only sitting a little away from them, eating their sandwich peacefully, while watching the two of them locking on against one another.

After swallowing a bite of it, she sighed a little at the two. "Come on, you guys. This isn't the time for fighting over a single sandwich." she said. However, the two of them continued to lock against each other for it. She sighed once more. But she couldn't help, but smile at the friendly competition. It felt pretty nice to see a friendly one after a while. In fact, it had been the first one after a long while. She was grateful for that. And she had hope to see more of it soon enough.

However, suddenly, she heard something. While the others were distracted with their own means, Rukia heard something somewhere. It sounded like... A wind being broken through by an object of some sort... And it came from above... Wait... Above?! She quickly looked up to the sky and saw four circular light, which were growing larger and larger, as if something was about to crash into the ground. As she widened her eyes, she alerted. "Ichigo!"

Everyone's attention went to Rukia, as the four beams of light were shot onto the ground far away from behind her, as they stood up from the ground at the sight of them. "Wh... What the hell?!" exclaimed the Substitute Shinigami. Everyone had the same reaction as him. Then, the four beams of light began to dissipate, revealing four mysterious figure in place of it. "What the...?!"

At the sight of them, what they saw were a people of a human form, but with green scales and helmet-like heads. In one of their hands, they wielded something that looked a lot like a gun, to the humans' view. The four mysterious figures looked up to the alerted group, their face hidden inside of their helmets... Or maybe, they have no face to begin with. "What... What are those things?!" exclaimed Uryuu, as he still continued to stare at the four mysterious beings.

Suddenly, They lifted their arm holding the gun up to the air. Then, they bring it down, just as their gun is facing them. Ichigo widened his eyes, as he began to predict what they are going to do. "Are they...?!" Realizing that they are going to attack, he shouted to everyone, "Guys, get out of the way!" In response to that, Rukia and Renji quickly jumped out of the attack range, while Chad grabbed Uryuu by the shoulders, as he jumped away with him. Ichigo did the same with Orihime, as he too jumped out of the attack with her as well. Just in time, the beings shot a barrage of blasts at the empty air, missing the group. Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia and Renji landed right to their right, while Chad and Uryuu are at their left.

"Ichigo! Who are these guys?!" asked Rukia.

"I don't know...! But we do know that they're enemies to us!" As Ichigo said that, he quickly grabbed the handle of his large Zanpakuto and moved it in front of him, as he moved into his fighting position. Then, he charged at one of them, as he let out a battle cry. The one that he was attacking turned to him, as it aimed its gun at him and shot a few blasts. However, Ichigo easily blocked it with his Zanpakuto, by the size of it, and as he was getting closer to it, he attempted to slash it diagonally. However, it dodged the attack. Ichigo then made another attack at it, in which it dodged as well.

Seeing Ichigo fighting against one of them, Rukia turned to Renji. "Renji!"

Renji nodded. "Right! Let's do it!" he shouted, as he jumped up from the ground and lunged at one of them, drawing his Zanpakuto. "**Howl, Zabimaru!**" he shouted to the name of his Zanpakuto, placing his hand on the bottom of the blade, then moved it up to it, which it turned into a long, six-part segmented blade with a pick-like blade on each top of the segments. "Take this!" he shouted, as he swung his Zanpakuto horizontally at one of the beings, as it extended into a whip. The attacked being noticed the attack and jumped out of the way from it. As it landed right on the ground, Renji moved his Zanpakuto to the opposite direction. "Got you!" he shouted, as his Zanpakuto got the being, pulling it in its swing. He quickly lifted his Zanpakuto up to the ground, pulling the being up, before he slammed it to the ground, making a hard impact. "Is that it?!"

As Renji made his way with his enemy, Rukia turned to Orihime. "Orihime! You go and support Uryuu and Chad, when the coast is clear!" she said. Orihime nodded. With that, Rukia lunged towards one of the enemy, drawing her Zanpakuto in hand. "Take this!" she shouted at it. However, when she was lunging at it, the being's free arm suddenly transformed into a blade, as it blocked her attack with it. "Heh...! Nice surprise you got there!" she said, as she pushed herself back from the enemy, landing a few feet away from it. She then charged at it and attempted to slash it to the side, in which it blocked. She then let out a few consecutive slashes at it, which it blocked all of them and the two of them then got into a power struggle against blades at the last attack.

As Orihime looked at the three Shinigamis fighting against their individual opponent, she looked at the last of the four beings, as it looked at her and aimed its gun at her. She gasped, and she began to run off from the attack range, before it shot out a barrage of blasts. As Orihime ran towards the two humans, the being moved its gun towards her in attempt to get her. Then, after a short while, it stopped, and its free arm was turned into a blade, the same as with the other one, as it jumped off the ground and dived towards Orihime, its blade arm ready to strike. She stopped, after noticing that the blasts were not firing anymore. When she looked up, she gasped to see the attacking being diving down at her. However, before it could get to her, Chad suddenly stepped in front of Orihime and punched the attacking being full on the head, with his right armored arm, as it was sent flying far away from them. Chad looked back at Orihime to see if she was alright. "Are you alright, Inoue-san?"

Orihime nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Sado-kun."

"Inoue-san!" shouted Uryuu, as he ran up the two of them. "You're not hurt, are you?!"

Orihime shook her head. "No. I'm fine, Ishida-kun." she said with a smile. Uryuu sighed of relief, upon knowing that she was alright. However, suddenly, just a little further away from the ground, four other beams of light struck the ground, alerting the others towards it. There stood four new mysterious beings, after the beams dissipated.

"What?! There's more of them?!" exclaimed Renji, as his Zanpakuto was beginning to return into its physical form. "I don't have time with these creeps!" He then began to run up towards the four newly beings.

Looking at the four new beings, Chad looked at Orihime and Uryuu. "Inoue-san. Protect Ishida-san. I'll take care of them." he said, as he too began to run up towards them.

Orihime nodded, as she then stood in front of Uryuu, acting as a shield to use her ability. "Don't worry, Ishida-kun! I won't let any of them hurt you!" she shouted. Uryuu then nodded to her.

Ichigo continued to attack at the evading being with everything he could in his speed. But it dodged all of them with its better agility. However, when it landed a little far away from Ichigo, its free arm transformed into a blade, as it lunged towards him at full strength. Ichigo easily dodged it with his Zanpakuto and pushed it off of him, as if it was nothing. "Nice try! But try this one for size!" he shouted, as he lifted his Zanpakuto up and slammed it back into the ground, summoning a stream of large wave towards it. "**Getsuga Tenshou!**" he shouted the name of the technique, as it hit the being and send it flying off far away, defeating it quite nicely. "Alright...! Now for the others!" he said, as he turned around to run towards the four new beings.

Rukia and the last of the first beings continued to struggle against each other, until they finally pushed each other off, as they jumped back a few feet away. The being jumped off the ground and and dived down at her. However, she easily dodged it and prepared a counterattack. "A big mistake!" she shouted, as she immediately slashed the side of the being horizontally. It stumbled a little, but it quickly turned to Rukia to slash her once more. However, she blocked it and with a final swift slash to the chest, the being stumbled back and fell to the ground, defeated. "There's still more!" she said, as she ran towards the four new ones.

While the three Shinigamis and the human charged towards the four beings, the beings aimed their guns at them, shooting out a barrage of blasts. However, the four of them jumped off from the attack range. Chad went for the one from the far left, as he dived down towards it and attempted to punch it down. However, it dodged his attack. But when his fist hit the ground, it crumbled into pieces a little around him, making the being next to him stumbled from the broken ground. It was the perfect opportunity for Rukia to lunge towards that one, as she pushed it from the two others with her Zanpakuto. Ichigo and Renji did the same with the two others.

After the attack, Chad looked up to his enemy and charged at it, with his fist ready to attack once more. However, as he threw it at the being, it jumped from the attack and landed behind him. But Chad wasn't its target. It was Orihime and Uryuu, the only ones who are not attacking. It charged at the two of them, as Chad noticed it running towards them. "Oh no!" he shouted, as he ran after the being.

As she noticed the being running after her, with its free arm transforming into a blade and ready to strike her, she quickly moved in front of Uryuu, facing it. "I'll cover you!" she shouted, as she moved her hands to each side of her head, summoning a technique. "**Santen Kesshun!**" she shouted, as a large, triangular barrier appeared in front of her and Uryuu. Normally, she was supposed to recite the kotodama of her fairy-like spirits in order to use any of her techniques, but she had trained much and she had no use of doing it to use them. As the being struck the barrier, it noticed that its attack didn't go through. It tried to slash it a few more times, attempting to break it apart, but to no vital.

It was just in time for Chad to catch up with it and grabbed its shoulder, before throwing it off away from the two. As it landed on the ground safely, Chad was already preparing a technique to finish it off. "Sorry. But this is the end of the line." he said, as he thrust his fist towards it, shooting out a large energy blast at it. It had no time to react, as the blast got it, disintegrating it into pieces.

As Rukia pushed herself against her enemy, a little far away from the others, the being pushed her off of it by kicking her to the stomach. Rukia retaliated with a quick slash at it, but it dodged. With its free arm transforming into a blade, like all the others, it attempted to slash her horizontally. But Rukia blocked the attack and pushed it off, making it stumble back. "I'm getting bored with that trick!" she shouted, as she quickly made a quick slash to its blade arm, cutting it off from it. As the being continued to stumble back, with the loss of its arm, Rukia charged at it with her Zanpakuto pointing at it, thrusting deep into its chest. She smirked, as she twisted her Zanpakuto to the side, before slashing through it, making it fall to the ground.

As the two Shinigamis pushed the beings off a few feet away from them, thanks to their lunge, the two beings quickly recovered themselves and aimed their gun at them, shooting another series of blasts at them. They dodged them, however, as they moved each to the side. "Renji! They're all yours!" Ichigo shouted to him.

Renji nodded. "Alright! Let's go, Zabimaru!" he said, as he swung his Zanpakuto at them horizontally, as it extended into a whip once more. The two beings noticed the attack and jumped off from the ground, avoiding it. Renji then swung his Zanpakuto to the opposite direction, up towards them once more. One of the beings managed to dived down from the attack, while the other was caught onto its blade, as his Zanpakuto pulled it to the ground hard. "You're not going to get away!" he shouted, as he made one last swing of his Zanpakuto at the last being, when it landed to the ground. However, it easily dodged his attack by jumping back from the attack range. Renji groaned, as each segment of his Zanpakuto returned onto its hilt for the time being.

As the being landed on the ground after avoiding the attack, it suddenly noticed Ichigo appearing next to it, as he was prepared to attack. "You're done for!" he shouted. Before the being could have time to react, Ichigo swung his Zanpakuto upward, sending it flying to the sky. He then jumped off the ground to catch up with it, and when he was above it, he slammed his Zanpakuto down on it, pulling it along with him, as they dived down to the ground, making a massive impact upon landing. The last of the being was wiped out.

"Damn... Who the hell are those guys?" asked Renji, upon seeing the last being defeated.

"I don't know..." said Ichigo, as he stood up from the ground after landing on it, as he looked down at the defeated being. "They don't look like normal human beings... I don't know who send those guys after us and why."

As the others regrouped together, they began to think about it. Who are those mysterious beings? Why did they appeared before them? What was the reason for them to attack them? Could it be... "Maybe..." started Rukia. "... Maybe they have something in common with the strange phenomenon that's been happening here. We haven't seen them before, not before that happened."

"That seems the most logical explanation." said Uryuu, who nodded in agreement to Rukia's theory. "We can say that they're some kind of monsters that have been appearing when that phenomenon happened. But... so far, none of them have been appearing back in Karakura Town before... So why now?"

However, their thoughts were cut short, as another beam of light had struck the ground, a little further away from the group, as they got alerted from the sight of it. However, that beam of light was more larger than the others. As the large beam dissipated, it revealed a large being, very different from the others. It had the same green scales and helmet-like head as with the others, but that being was more larger, more muscular, and a little more monstrous. It had four arms instead of only two, holding a different weapon each. The top right arm held a large axe, while the bottom one held some kind of a large half of a chakram. The top left arm held a very large broad sword, while the bottom one didn't have any weapons, but three large claws that came from the forehand. In addition to its large and muscular form, it also has a monstrous mouth, which was the only part that the helmet head didn't cover.

Rukia stared at the monstrous being with her eyes widened in shock. "What... What the hell?!" After its appearance, the monstrous being opened its mouth large enough to show its distorted form, as it let out a large and ear-breaking cry.

At the sound of it, everyone shielded their ears hard enough so that none of its cry can penetrate into them. But it was still hard enough to even hurt the inside through their hands. "Ngh...! So loud...!" moaned Orihime, as the pain was beginning to penetrate through her ears.

Then, as it finished crying out, it suddenly jumped from the ground, and it began to dive down towards the group. Uryuu looked up to see the diving being, as he quickly alerted to everyone. "Everyone! Get out of the way!!" In response to that, everyone all looked up to see it diving down towards them. In reaction to it, everyone all jumped out of the way, with Chad grabbing Uryuu once more and Rukia grabbing Orihime this time. The being dived right into the ground, as it broke into pieces around it, as well as making a small earthquake around the earth, in which everyone almost stumble a little after they landed to the ground. With another ear-breaking cry, which was short this time, it looked back towards the group, which are right behind it.

"Damn it...! This guy is going to be tough to deal with!" said Ichigo, as he got on into his fighting stance once more, along with Rukia, Renji and Chad, while Orihime and Uryuu got themselves ready in a defensive position. The monstrous being began to walk towards them, its feet breaking a small part of the ground, as they land on it. Everyone are ready to fight against it, no matter how much of a disadvantage that they are in. It moved closer and closer towards them, ready to attack at any time, until...

Suddenly, it stopped moving. To the group's confusion, the monstrous being suddenly stopped moving. Then, it began to fall forward to the ground, which alerted everyone to jump back from its fall. "Huh? What the...?" said Renji, upon seeing the being falling to the ground, seemingly defeated for some reason.

They didn't know why and how it was defeated like that, but when they looked into the front, they noticed something behind the fallen being. A person with short, blond hair which stops right at his neck. That person wore an orange shirt, as well as a pair of black pants. He seemed to be in a finishing position, with a blade in his right hand pointing to the side. Upon seeing him, everyone gasped. And they quickly realized that that person... seemed to have defeated the monstrous being. Then, they saw him standing straight from his position, his arm moving down along with his katana. "... I have finally found you..." the person started to speak, as he turned around to look at the group, revealing a pair of brown eyes and a sneaky smirk. In the front of his shirt, there also existed a tie. "... Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo widened his eyes in surprise, upon hearing his name from that person. "What...? Hey, who the hell are you?!"

"Hey, what's with that rude comment? I'm trying to be nice to you, you know." said the mysterious person. "I just came here to save you guys from that monster, before it could get to you. I don't wanna let an important person to be killed by it."

"Just the answer the question already!" Ichigo was getting a little annoyed, as he demanded to know who the mysterious person, the one who defeated the being single handedly, is.

"Alright, alright, if you're that impatient." he said, as he sighed. "My name is Hirako Shinji. Nice to meet you in this fine time of the day... Or at least, the bad time, actually." He looked up to the sky to see how red it is, during the strange phenomenon. "... This place is filled with dark energy. And I'm not sure why, even though that I'm..." He trailed off, deciding that it wasn't really the time for him to reveal something about it.

Rukia took the time to look at Shinji closely, until her eyes were fixed onto the katana that he was holding. "Wait... That katana..." she said, before she realized what it was. "Hold on! Is that a Zanpakuto?!"

Shinji looked at Rukia when she said that, before he looked down to his katana. "Ah... Good eye, my fine lady. You already know what it is, even with its unreleased form. Well, to answer your question, yes. This is my Zanpakuto."

Rukia gasped. "Then that means... You're a Shinigami?!"

"Wait a minute! What's another Shinigami doing here in the human world?! Were you been sent out by the Soul Society?!" asked Renji, who was also shocked to see another Shinigami, other than Rukia and him, here.

"It's... uh... hard to explain." said Shinji, as he scratched the back of his head, unable to answer Renji's question because of the many events that had happened to him back in the past. "But I don't have much time to explain everything to you guys. What I am here... is for Kurosaki Ichigo." he said, as he looked at Ichigo with his keen eyes.

"What...? For me?" Ichigo asked.

"I am here to test your strength, Ichigo."

"What for?"

"You'll find out, once we're ready..." Shinji said, as he got on to his fighting stance. In the sight of it, Ichigo immediately got alerted got into his own fighting stance, along with the others upon seeing it. Shinji smirked as he saw that everyone are already at their position to start a battle. Something that he had expected for all of them. He was going to test Ichigo's strength somewhat, but... He soon stood straight once more, as he sighed and lifted his shoulders. "But sadly, that's not what I'm here for."

Ichigo and the others got confused by that. "Huh? What?"

"I'm just here to inform you about something that I have been told to do. One of my fellow comrades informed me that there existed a large Reiryoku hidden within a certain city, by the name of Tokyo."

"Tokyo?"

"Wait. That large spiritual pressure, like you said it..." said Orihime. "Do you know what caused that spiritual pressure?"

"As of now, no. No one knows what caused a Reiryoku that large. But I do know this. It might have been in common with the phenomenon that everyone is facing right now."

Ichigo gasped quietly. "Is that true? Then the person that we're looking is..."

"... Might be in Tokyo, as we speak." finished Shinji for him. "So the reason why I am here is not to test your strength, Ichigo, but to join me to travel to Tokyo, in order to investigate that matter."

"But why should I? Why do you want me to join you for that?"

"Because you're essential for some reason. I don't know why yet, but my comrade said that you're needed to do the investigation. But I already know that you would decline it, since you don't know me very well. But all I'm asking you is this. Come with me, and you might be able to find who you're looking for."

Ichigo was skeptical. He didn't really trust that guy, considering he was the one who challenged him into a battle. But if what he said was true, about the Reiryoku hidden in Tokyo, and the person who might be in there, he would settle the matter and bring an end to that phenomenon. But would he trust him for that? Then, a hand was laid on one of his shoulders and he turned to see Uryuu. "Uryuu?"

"... Maybe we should come with him. If what he said is true, then we might end that phenomenon without getting anyone hurt from it. We have to take that chance, or else, we won't be able to stop it sooner or later." said Uryuu.

"Ishida-kun is right!" said Orihime, who is siding with Uryuu in that matter. "If we take too long to find that person, then we won't be able to prevent it from hurting our friends in some way. We have to take up with his words."

"Inoue..." said Ichigo. Then he looked at Chad, who simply nodded in agreement.

When he looked at the two Shinigamis next to him, Rukia nodded. "They're right. We have to settle it as soon as possible. That phenomenon won't be that safe for long."

Renji shrugged. "Let's just take his word. If he can lead us to that guy, then we can finish this up a lot sooner."

Looking at everyone around him, who all agreed to take up to Shinji's words, Ichigo soon came to an agreement, as with everyone else. He then looked back at Shinji. "Alright. I'll come with you."

Shinji smiled. "Good to know! Don't worry, Ichigo. You won't regret it one bit. Tokyo is going to be a fun place to stay, after all."

"But how do you plan on getting us over there? Tokyo is a lot farther away from Karakura Town. And walking there will take too long to get there." said Uryuu, who explained the obvious situation to him.

"Oh, don't worry. I can take you there..." Shinji said, as he placed his hand on a front of a red minivan which UNEXPECTEDLY appeared out of nowhere for some reason. "... In THIS minivan! It could only take a day or two to get there."

Everyone were pretty much surprised to see a minivan there next to Shinji. Ichigo was the only one who was able to speak out to that matter in shock. "What the...?! When the hell did THAT get here?!"

"What are you talking about? It's always been here when I'm here." said Shinji, who acted like the minivan was already there at the very first moment.

"No it's not! Cars like that don't suddenly appear out of nowhere!"

"Ah, forget about it! Let's just get in the car, shall we?" With that, Shinji quickly got in the car, in the driving seat.

Ichigo was still unable to cope it out that a car suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as he still demanded some logical explanation to the mysterious Shinigami. "But...! But...! That can't...!"

Rukia sighed, as she decided to forget about that being happened and went forward to the minivan. "Let's just go, Ichigo. We won't find a logical explanation from him for a while." she said. As everyone else followed Rukia's advice, they went to the minivan as well. Ichigo was still filled with disbelief to see that minivan appearing here out of nowhere, but he decided to push it out of the way and followed the others.

The reason why it appeared so suddenly was because... This is merely fiction.

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After a while, a minivan can be seen running through the plains, towards the direction of a road, so it could run on it without being warned by some cops. Inside of the minivan, there was three rows of seats. Two seats in the front, two other seats in the middle and a large seat fit for three people on the back. Shinji is on the wheel, while Orihime was sitting next to him. Ichigo and Rukia were sitting in the middle row, while the others are on the back, with Chad in the middle.

For a long while inside of the car, Rukia was looking around and around in the inside of it, as it was the first time that she had been riding in a car. "So this is what it feels like, being driven inside of a car..."

"Oh yeah. This is your first time, right?" said Ichigo, as he looked at her. "Yeah, it feels a lot faster than walking and running. It could take us anywhere in several miles in a few minutes or so."

"Did you always travel in a car before?"

"Not as much as before. I could easily walk through Karakura Town without much use of a car."

"Well, I can see that you're feeling comfortable over here, Ichigo." said Renji, who was sitting behind the seat Ichigo was sitting. If we can look closely, he was moving quite a bit, as if he was trying to get into a comfortable position in his seat. "But I can't seem to get comfortable like that with the big guy hogging most of the seat...!" He was referring to Chad, who is big enough to take a lot of the seat, considering that he's large.

"Sorry." Chad apologized.

"No, no. No need to apologize, Sado-san." said Uryuu, who is also having the same problem as Renji. "It's not your fault that we're trying to find a comfortable place in here."

As the people in the back were having some problems, somewhat, Shinji continued to drive through the plains, ignoring the others' comments and stuff. Then, he took an eye at the girl next to him. As he examined her appearance from up and down, he couldn't help, but to compliment it. "You look absolutely wonderful, miss." he said.

Orihime looked at him upon hearing his words. "Oh. You mean me?"

"Well, of course. With that beauty that you are holding now, it's almost impossible for any man to resist it. You look quite beautiful." As he said that, Orihime could only blush at that comment. "Tell me... What's your name?"

"Um... Inoue... Orihime." she said, who is still blushing.

"Ah... A beautiful name for a princess such as you." Shinji said, as one of his hand left the wheel to grab hold of her hand tenderly, before lifting it up in a formal matter. "With a beautiful face and a wonderful name, you are such a Goddess to me, my Inoue-chan. I will cherish you for the rest of my life, if I have to."

"Um... No, you don't have to... Um... Uh..." Orihime wasn't able to speak through the polited and romantic matter that Shinji was speaking to her. It was something that could make her go speechless through that.

Shinji chuckled slightly at how speechless she was. "It's alright, my Goddess. You can take your time..." he said with a soothing smile. Beofre he could compliment her any further, a hand was placed on his head, and it moved it towards the view.

"... Keep your eyes on the road, jackass." said the voice of Ichigo, who is the one who turned Shinji's head back on the road. The expression on his voice showed that he was getting pissed off for some reason.

Shinji simpy shrugged, and let go of Orihime's hand from him. "Alright, alright, if you don't want to see me compliment her beauty, Ichigo." With that, he continued to drive through the plains.

It was like that for merely a day, with a through stops and turns to add up with the time of the day...

----------

Finally, in a perfectly good morning, they have reached the popular town, known as Tokyo, after being slept uncomfortably in the night and woke suddenly in the middle of the morning. Tokyo is one of the world's most populated city. It wasn't a surprise to see a large people walking into the streets, considering how much of a hurry they are in such an early morning. Tokyo is a place where everyone desired to live there because of its economical power and activity. It was the best of all towns inside of Japan.

Orihime stared at the town in amaze through the car window, seeing the many stores and places that resides in the famous town. "Wow! Tokyo! This is the first time that I've been to Tokyo! How amazing!" she exclaimed out of amaze.

Unlike her, the others showed no sign of excitement over the city. It was always like this in the populated city, and this one was no different than the other. But they didn't deny the fact that it was this amazing. With that, Shinji decided to ask them about it. "So, since we're here, do you guys wanna hang around the city for stuff? I heard that they got some sweet stuff that isn't found in Karakura Town."

"Do we even have the time for this?" asked Uryuu.

"What's the rush? People seemed to ignore the phenomenon for a reason that it wasn't something to be afraid of. So for the time being, let's just enjoy the fun for a while! Got me, guys?"

"... I don't think we have the time for this." said Ichigo, who showed no sign of excitement over it.

Having heard of it, Shinji shrugged. "Alright. I guess we'll have to get this over with as quick as possible." he said, as he continued to run through the road inside of Tokyo.

Ichigo didn't want to have some fun now, not when the world that he's living in is in danger. If they just stop now and waste their time goofing around in Tokyo, they might face the consequences. The reason why they're here isn't because to have fun. He wanted to settle it so that no one can get hurt somehow. He had no time to waste.

After a long while of driving through the city, they were now driving pass a large school that seemed to have not yet started, considering the time of the morning. However, suddenly, Shinji stopped the car, upon looking at that school. His eyes were staring at it for some reason.

"Hey, why are we stopping?" asked Renji, wanting to know why Shinji stopped next to the field of a school.

Shinji didn't answer it, as he continued to fix his eyes towards the school. After a while, he looked back at the group behind him. "Let's get out of the car." he said, as he turned off the engine and got himself out of the minivan. The others were confused about that, but they followed him after wards.

Upon getting out of there, Shinji seemed to continue to stare at the school in front of him for some reason. Ichigo had the need to ask him. "What's the matter? Something wrong?" Shinji still didn't answer, as he continued to stare at it with determination in his eyes.

Then, finally, he turned to look at the others. "Sorry, but I got to do something for a while. Wait here so I can take care of things." he said.

"Huh? Why?" asked Rukia.

"Just wait here until I come back, alright?" Without any further questions asked, Shinji quickly jumped off from the group.

"Hey, wait!" called out Ichigo. But it was no used. Shinji continued to jump away from the group, just until his body disappeared behind the school building. Ichigo scratched the back of his head in a confusing matter, but as well as an irritating matter. "Man, what's up with this guy? Why can't he just tell us what he has in mind instead of just keeping it to himself?"

"Maybe it's best to wait for him, like he said. It won't be long until he comes back." said Rukia.

"Yeah... I guess you're right, Rukia."

All the others had to do was to wait for the mysterious Shinigami to come back from the things that he has to take care of.

----------

Dong! Ding! Dang! Dong!

That was the sound of the bell ringing, indicating the start of the first period of class, inside of that school. It had been an hour since Shinji was gone, and the others were still waiting for his return. While standing outside of the gate, which was closed after the last ringing bell, Uryuu, Orihime and Chad were found sitting against the concrete wall next to the gate, while the three Shinigamis were found sitting and standing on a branch of a tree in front of the school building, minding their own business.

"... Ok, that does it!" exclaimed Renji, as he was getting really tired of waiting for the mysterious Shinigami to come back. "What took him so long?! And why the hell isn't he back yet!? Well, that's it! I'm gonna go find him!"

"Hold on, Renji!" said Rukia, stopping Renji from moving to get to Shinji. "He might be on to something that he doesn't want us to bother. So until he's done with that, we'll have to wait even further. We can't just go and find him when he's trying to do something to get to that large Reiryoku."

"But we don't know WHERE that Reiryoku is! We didn't even felt it when we're in Tokyo! Are you still sure that we're not wasting time with this guy?!"

"Just shut up and wait, Renji! We're going to find out sooner or later!"

Renji sighed, as he gave up on that and continued to wait. "Alright, fine... As long as he has a reasonable explanation for this..."

Ichigo didn't really do anything about it. He continued to wait for Shinji to come back, even when it takes a long time for that to happen. All he ever do to try and keep himself entertain was to watch through one of the windows of a classroom. Rukia noticed that Ichigo wasn't even doing anything about it and was curious as to what he was looking at. "What are you doing?"

"Just watching the classroom for the time being." he replied.

"You know, it's a little creepy for someone to look through the window just to see what the others are doing. But it is even more creepier if that someone was looking through it just for a single girl..."

"Well, I'm not like that. I just want to be entertain through watching the class. That's all."

Rukia shrugged. "Alright, if it keeps you waiting for long." she said, as she continued to wait for another long time.

What Ichigo saw through the window was that the class were all seated in their respective place, ready to start the class in time, with their teacher standing in front of them. It might be because he was about to explain what they are going to do in class. If only he could hear what they are saying...

Inside of the classroom, where everyone were all seated in their places, with the teacher standing in front of them, the teacher had something to say to all of them. "Class, I am here to announce you that we have an exchanged student who will be attending here in our school for the time being. But before I'll introduce you to him, be gentle with him. It is his first day in school and he doesn't know everyone well. Well then, come on in." he said. The door to the classroom was slid open, revealing the exchanged student that the teacher was talking about.

Back outside, he could see that someone was entering the classroom. However, there is something odd and familiar about him... "Wait a minute... Isn't that...?"

Rukia noticed what he said, as she followed his gaze. "What did you find, Ichigo?" she said. Renji followed the two of them in their gaze.

As the exchanged student walked inside of the room, he revealed his appearence to them. While wearing the school uniform, he had a short, blond hair that stops at his neck and a pair of brown eyes. He was smiling at the class. "Hello there. My name is Hirako Shinji. Please take a good care of me."

"WHAT?!?!?!?!" exclaimed the three Shinigamis at the same time, upon seeing Shinji, the very same Shinji, the mysterious Shinigami, standing inside of the classroom as a student.

That alerted the three others from down below, as they looked up to the Shinigamis to see what went wrong. "Hey, what's wrong, guys?!" said Orihime to them.

"... That bastard... is a student in that school?!" said Ichigo, unable to believe that Shinji was a student in that school in such a short time. But seeing him here really annoyed him.

"But...! But...! I thought that he was going to...!" stuttered Rukia, as what she believed was proven false.

"Grr! We wasted our time waiting for him, so that he became a student in that school?! What the hell!" shouted Renji.

As Ichigo groaned in anger, he jumped off from the branch and lunged towards the window of that classroom that Shinji was in. "He better have a good explanation for this crap!!"

Back inside... "Well, why don't you start by explaning who you are?" asked the teacher.

"Certainly." replied Shinji with a nod. "I was born in Okinawa. My parents are working for a company, so I spent most of my time alone with a caretaker when I was a child. I am really good at fixing electronics and I..." He was soon stopped, as he heard a hard knock from the window. He looked at it to see a pissed-off Ichigo, looking at him with a pissed-off face. All of the class looked towards the window in the same way, however, they didn't see Ichigo right there, since he is a Shinigami. That kind of thing led to everyone chattering about what caused that large knock. Seeing that Ichigo wanted a really good explanation for it, Shinji said to the teacher, "Ah, I'm sorry. I forgot that there are some things that I have to take care of up in the rooftop. So, may I please be excused for a while? I'll be back soon."

"Uh... Well, alright. You can go." said the teacher, as he was also confused as to what caused the large knock.

Shinji bowed to the teacher in a polited matter. "Thank you. I'll be back soon." he said, as he quickly left the classroom to meet up with the pissed-off Shinigami...

----------

... in which he was being pushed to the fence by the same pissed-off Shinigami, who grabbed onto the bottom of his collar. "What the hell, Shinji! What the hell are you doing in that class?!" asked Ichigo.

"What? What did I do?" asked Shinji, who seemed to have not been fazed by that rude matter.

"Don't act like you don't know!" exclaimed Renji, who was next to Ichigo, sharing the same anger as him towards the mysterious Shinigami-turned-student. "Why the hell did you attend that school?! Are you trying to waste our time through your stupid plan?!"

The others were standing behind the two, who didn't even bother trying to do anything to Shinji with his plan of being a student in that class. "Guys, calm down. Let him speak out the reason for that. And I sure hope that it's something that makes sense..." said Rukia, trying to calm the two Shinigamis down from their anger for the mysterious Shinigami.

"The young lady is right, you two." said Shinji. "There is a reason why I became a student in this school, which was the reason why you two were so pissed off at."

Ichigo continued to groan in anger at him, but he began to loosen his grip on his shirt, letting him go. "Then tell me... Why is that?" he asked, as he was able to calm himself down from his anger for a while.

Shinji removed Ichigo's hands from his shirt, as he went pass the two, as well as the others, as he went behind them, in which all of them looked back at him. "Well... I know that me being a student in this school is something to be mad about, considering how much time that I have wasted for you. But like I said before, I have an honest reason for doing so.

"Then what is it?" asked Uryuu.

Shinji paused for a moment, before he turned towards the group. "... Do any of you felt the large Reiryoku inside of this school?" After hearing it, everyone gasped. The large Reiryoku was found here? If so, why didn't anyone felt it before? Shinji could only smirk. "It's normal that none of you can sense it... Because none of you are special Shinigamis."

"What? Special... Shinigamis?" asked Rukia.

"That's right. In fact, I am one of those special Shinigamis. To tell you who I really am, I am a Vizard. That special kind of Shinigamis."

"What the hell is a Vizard?" asked Renji, a little curious about what a Vizard is.

"Well... It's hard to explain, since none of you from the human world or the Soul Society learned any of it after a long time... But instead of explaining it to you... How about I just show it to you?"

"Show it to us...?" said Orihime, curious to know what it is. "What is it?"

"You'll see... And I bet that all of you are going to be surprised, once I show it..." With that, Shinji placed his hand next to his face. In a slow motion to the other side, a sudden stream of energy was gathering onto his face, surprising everyone who saw it. After he finished moving his hand to the other side, the energy soon took its shape. It took a shape of a mask. A mask that gave everyone a shock, upon remembering what it is.

"That's... That's... a Hollow mask!" shouted Ichigo.

He was right. What took shape onto Shinji's face was a Hollow mask. A double-mouthed Pharaoh mask with a short-flowing hood beneath the back of his neck. His eyes, which were the only things that the mask didn't cover, was all black, with golden-yellow orbs.

"A Hollow mask...?! Then that means...!" Rukia didn't have the time to finish what she was going to say, as she was already in her fighting position to face Shinji out of warning. "Are you a Hollow?!"

"Hm... Not necessarily." said Shinji through his mask. "To explain it to you guys clearly, yes, this is a Hollow mask. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that I'm a Hollow, since I don't have the form of a Hollow."

"Hey... That's true..." said Renji, as he looked at Shinji's body, when he said it. His body was still perfectly normal, and not at the form of a Hollow, which was monstrous. "But... What does that mean?"

"Like I said before, I am a Vizard. A Shinigami who crossed the realm of Hollows. I acquiered the powers of a Hollow, but that doesn't mean that I'm a Hollow myself. My comrades are also Vizards, who all have the same powers as I. How it happened was something that none of you know about it a long time ago."

"A Shinigami... with the powers of a Hollow..." Uryuu said, unable to believe that there existed Shinigamis like that.

"And to be clear, the reason why I decided to find you before, Ichigo, is because you are the same as us... But incomplete in some way."

"Me... The same as you...?" said Ichigo, as he widened his eyes in surprise to have learn that he is also like them... But in a different way.

"That's right. To explain it even further, we have received information that after you became a Shinigami, you received a small piece of a Hollow power inside of you, which you were unable to control." After hearing it, everyone else gasped after learning it, as they all looked at Ichigo, who couldn't stop looking at Shinji about what he was telling. "You already have the powers of a Hollow. But those powers were uncontrolable for you. And so, that was the reason why I am here to get you, Ichigo. To be your friend and to help you overcome your Hollow self."

"... No... No, you don't understand! My Hollow self is too dangerous to be controled!"

"Then that's why we're going to help you control it, so that you can become a Vizard, just like us."

"I'm telling you... My Hollow self is not something to be controled. Every time I've been in a worst situation, my Hollow came out and took control of my body... I can't stop it from doing so... I was lucky to regain control of myself with the remaining strength I have. But I... I don't know when will be the next time that it will control me again..."

Shinji looked at Ichigo with his emotionless eyes. "... Then I'll give you a deal. I'll let you choose two decisions that you will take. One, to be my friend and we'll help you control your Hollow self, in order to become one of us. And two, to decline my offer and you will suffer from it, unable to fight against it with what little powers you have. What's it gonna be, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"... Ngh..." Ichigo wasn't sure what to do about it. But he still thought that Shinji still didn't understand that his Hollow self is dangerous, and can't be controled in any way. He would risk hurting his friends, if that happened. But those Vizards... Those guys who have Hollow powers... Is he the same as them?

After receiving no answer from him after a while, Shinji simply smirked and closed his eyes. "Don't worry. You'll think about it." he said, as the Hollow mask disappeared from his face. "You'll give me your answer after school. Think clearly. Or else, you might go into the wrong direction of your life." Shinji turned around from the group and began to walk towards the door, until he realized that someone was there, standing outside of the door. "Hm?" he said, as everyone else noticed someone standing there.

"Um... Shinji-san?" asked the boy to the Vizard. He looked like a 16 year-old boy with short, brown hair, in which the front of it seemed to have been standing up in the air, and a pair of brown eyes.

"Hm? Um... Who are you, exactly?" asked Shinji to the boy.

"I'm in your class that you've introduced yourself to. The teacher said that I should go and get you, since you've been gone for a long while."

"Oh, oh right! Sorry about that!" Shinji said, as he let out a soft chuckle. "Don't worry. I'm done with everything I can in here. I can go back now."

"Oh. Alright." said the boy with a nod. Then, he looked who is behind Shinji. "Um... Who are those guys?"

"Oh! Them?" said Shinji, as he looked at Orihime, Uryuu and Chad, who are the only people that the boy could see, since he couldn't see a Shinigami like Ichigo. "They're just my friends. Look, I know it's wrong for people who are not students of this school to hang around with me here, but they got something to tell me. And now they're done. So, they'll be going as soon as possible. Alright?"

"And why are three of them wearing black hakamas?" Hearing it, the four Shinigamis gasped out of shock, as well as the others.

"What...? You can... see them?" asked Shinji in disbelief. It couldn't be right... How can that boy be able to see the other Shinigamis? Normal human beings aren't supposed to see them... But why was that boy an exception?

"Well, of course. I can also see that orange-haired guy knocking at the window for some reason that I don't know how he get there. Was there something that he wanted to talk to you about?"

Shinji couldn't say anything about that. Neither are Ichigo and the others. He could see Shinigamis... But under no influence to anything strange. But why? Was he the only one who can see Shinigamis in the class? "Um... That's... hard to explain. But it's not something to be curious about." he said, chuckling slightly. "Why don't you just go back to class? I'll catch up with you as soon as I'm done. Alright?"

The boy shrugged. "Alright. If you say so." With that, he went through the door, exiting the rooftop.

The others were still speechless that he could see Shinigamis. But they still didn't have any clue why he can see them. Rukia walked towards Shinji to ask him about that. "That guy... He can see us... But how come?"

Shinji didn't say anything about it, but he did came to a conclusion to that. "... Looks like Tokyo is really the place where we have to investigate even further."

"So you're saying that that boy is...?"

He nodded. "No doubt about it..." he said, as he turned to look at Rukia. "... He's not a normal human being."

**End of chapter**

Hey, guys. It's me again, with a new chapter... Which seemed to be off, for some reason. Maybe it's because I don't have any more good ideas for the chapter, and went with what I believe that it would do... Maybe I've been a little too quick on it. So... I guess it's time for me to rest easy to get some more good ideas.

BTW, when I wrote it, it... seemed like I forgot about somethings about Bleach. Yeah, I know about it a lot, but... I think I missed something from it... Ah well. Forget about that for now.

Anyways, Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	9. Chapter 8: Attack in Tokyo

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashback_

**Zanpakuto/Technique**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes.

**Chapter 8:**

**Attack in Tokyo**

Dong! Ding! Dang! Dong!

The sound of the ringing bell indicated that it is the time for lunch, just like in every school. All of the students in each and every class are able to have a long hour of break time, just to eat lunch and hanging out in the school, that includes the school grounds. It is like that in every other school. No exceptions, no restrictions, just an hour of break.

Hirako Shinji was seen standing against a wall next to a window, in one of the hallways in the first floor. Although that he was spending a good time in his first day in school, he didn't forget about his mission: to investigate the large Reiryoku that is found somewhere inside of the school. However, he couldn't tell the exact place where it was stored. But that wasn't the only thing he has to do right now. He also have to keep an eye on a certain someone. The brown-haired boy who can actually see Shinigamis without anything strange that occurred to him. Shinji couldn't sense a powerful Reiryoku within that boy, yet, he can see Shinigamis. But why?

Right now, Shinji could see the brown-haired boy standing a little far away in the halls, standing against the opposite wall, eating his home-made sandwich with no one around. It was weird. He seemed to be an honest boy to have friends with, but he doesn't have any friends to eat with. Shinji wondered... Then, he decided to try and speak with the brown-haired boy, in hopes to learn more about him. He got off from the wall and proceeded to walk towards him. "Hey there." he said to the boy with a smile.

The brown-haired boy looked to see Shinji walking towards him. "Oh. You're the new student, right?" he asked.

"That's right. And you're the guy who I met up in the rooftop, right?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, since we're now speaking face-to-face, how about I just introduce myself to you? My name is Hirako Shinji. It's nice to meet you, Mister..."

"Ibuki. Ibuki Keita." answered the boy, named Keita.

"Ah, Ibuki-san! Nice to meet you." Shinji said, grinning at Keita in a polite matter. "So, um... Do you have any friends around? Any friends at all so you can introduce me to them?"

Keita simply shook his head. "No. Not really."

Shinji raised his eyebrow. So it was true. Keita doesn't have any friends to begin with. But why is that, he wondered. "Hm... Sounds kinda lonely having no friends, right?"

"Yeah... I guess so."

"Hm... How about this? I can be your friend no problem. Dunno why no one is friends with you, but I can be a very good friend for you. What do you say, Ibuki-san?" said Shinji, as he lend out his hand towards the brown-haired student.

Keita stared at his hand for a while, then he slowly turned his head away. "... I don't think so. Thanks for the offer."

"Huh?" Again, Shinji raised his eyebrow. Why was Keita rejecting him being his friend? What was the problem of having friends?

After a while, Keita got off from the wall where he stood against, as he was preparing to walk away. "I'm sorry. But I need some time for myself, will you?" said Keita. "I don't mean to sound mean to you, but I still want to have some time alone. It's nice to chat with you, Shinji-san." With that, Keita walked away from the blond, heading to another location where he could have some time alone.

Shinji simply watched him go away from him, with his hand not being grasp once. Then, he finally put down his hand, as his look became serious. "... So he's rejecting making friends, huh?" he said, as he could tell a piece of information from the lone boy. The reason of that rejection was something that he was not going to make it out of Keita. But he will still try and learn more about him as much as possible. But right now, he still has to find the large Reiryoku within the school, where ever it is...

----------

"Three large Miso Ramen, please!" said Orihime with a cheerful expression on her face to the owner of a Ramen stand, which was found in one of the large sidewalks in the city of Tokyo. Since Shinji was busy trying to find the large Reiryoku in the school and investigate more on the brown-haired boy from the rooftop, the others decided to go and hang out inside of the city, for a while, just until school is over.

As the Ramen stand owner was done with the four bowls of Ramen, and placed them on a large plate, he handed it to the aubern-haired girl. "There you go. Three Miso Ramen, just as you ordered." he said.

"Thank you very much!" said Orihime, as she took the large plate in her hands and walked towards her table, trying not to bump into people and their own tables. After she reached her table, where Uryuu and Chad are waiting for her, she settled it down on it and sat down on her seat. "Here we go! Three Miso Ramen for the three of us!"

"Thanks, Inoue-san." said Uryuu, as he took one of the bowl of Ramen to him, with Chad doing the same with his own. "It's been a while since I've eaten Ramen like that. Won't you agree, Chad?" he asked, as he received a nod from the large boy.

"It's nice to enjoy some Ramen every once in a while! They're one of the best things ever!" said Orihime, as she giggled. "But it's too bad that Kurosaki-kun and the others won't be joining us because they're Shinigamis..." When she said that, she frowned a little. But then, she quickly got over it and her joyful expression came back on her face. "Oh well! Itadakimasu!" she shouted out, before she took the wooden chopsticks in her hands and pulled them off from each other. Uryuu and Chad did the same thing, and the three of them began to enjoy their food.

Meanwhile, just above a certain building next to the large sidewalk where the Ramen stand took place, Ichigo, Rukia and Renji were stuck sitting and waiting on the building, while they watched the others eating their food with ease. At the smell of the Ramen that's been floating up in the air, Renji's stomach growl, as he frowned at the sound and feel of it a little. "Man... This sucks. Why can't we just join the others to eat Ramen as well? Just the smell of it really annoys me...!" he said.

"Don't be ridiculous, Renji." said Rukia. "You know that everyone else can't see us, and they'll be scared to see a ghost eating Ramen with the others. It will lead to a commotion and we'll cause trouble around the city. It's best that we should stay up here and avoid making a huge commtion in the city."

"But we haven't eaten anything since yesterday...! Can't we just eat something before I go crazy about it...?!"

Rukia sighed. "Alright, alright... But we'll have to ask Orihime to buy us some food, when the coast is clear. So until then, just keep hidden, Renji." Not much to her surprise, Renji let out an annoyed groan, as his stomach continued to torture him with the thought of eating food.

Ichigo was the only one who didn't say anything when they were up there. His thoughts weren't about food or to stay hidden from the crowd. They were about the boy from the rooftop of the school. He was still thinking about why that boy can see him and the others, when they're Shinigamis, a spiritual entity not visible to normal human beings. He could understand that the boy wasn't normal, but what made him see spirits? And how? "That guy..."

Rukia turned to Ichigo, after hearing him. "Huh? What's wrong, Ichigo?"

"That guy from the school... He can see us, right?"

"Uh... yes, that's right. And what are you trying to say?"

Ichigo paused a little, before answering her. "Well, it's kinda odd for him to see us like that. I don't feel any strong Reiryoku within him, and he can still see us... There might be a reason for him to be able to see us, but I don't know what..."

"Hm... Well, we'll have to wait until we meet up with Shinji again. If he was able to get something out of that boy, then maybe we can understand clearly. I mean, I'm sure that there was something that occurred to him before, which made him see us..."

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, you're right... I guess it's not something to worry about." he said, in which Rukia nodded. The three Shinigamis continued to sit still and wait for Orihime and the others to make a move after their lunch. Suddenly, a beeping sound was heard. And Ichigo quickly looked down to see his Shinigami badge on his belt blinking bright. "Huh?"

Both Rukia and Renji looked at the badge at the same time, upon hearing it. "Ichigo, that's your...!" said Rukia, upon remembering the badge.

After seeing it blink and beeping like that, Ichigo widened his eyes in shock. "That means...!" he stated, before looking elsewhere, alerted. "A Hollow...? In Tokyo?!" As he said that, he and the others heard a sound of the many glasses being shattered, alerting everyone who can hear it from afar.

Orihime, Uryuu and Chad got alerted from their feeding session, as they turned to look at where the sound was heard. "Huh? What is...?" Orihime began to ask, wondering what caused the shattering glasses.

"Orihime!" The three people heard Rukia's voice shouting from above, as they looked up to see her on top of a building. "You guys! We gotta get to the area where the sound is coming from! There's a Hollow over there!"

That made everyone gasp of shock, upon hearing the news coming from Rukia. "A Hollow?! In Tokyo?!" exclaimed Uryuu.

"We have to get to that Hollow, before it could cause any more damage in the city." said Chad, as he got up from his seat and ran towards the direction of where the Hollow was supposed to be. Both Orihime and Uryuu nodded, as they followed Chad in his sprint to get to the area.

Meanwhile, Ichigo, Renjo and Rukia were already jumping from building to building, heading quickly to the area where the Hollow is. They got to there quicker than they expected, as they were able to find it, stopping on one of the buildings. However, it wasn't only one, but a group of Hollows in one place. Rukia widened her eyes in surprised. "A group of Hollows?!"

Down to the street, many windows of the buildings where shattered, and the civilians were running and evacuating from the area. There existed a group of Hollows that were working their way, rampaging through the area, as a group, to the Shinigamis' surprised. They were only five of them. Three Jibakurai in different colors, and two Shriekers in different colors as well. "That's not right... How come there are Hollows working in groups?!" exclaimed Renji.

However, his exclamation alerted one of the Shriekers, as it looked up to see the Shinigamis on one of the buildings. As it shrieked out loudly, it flew up towards them, attempting to attack them. "Damn it! It comes!" shouted Ichigo, as he grabbed his Zanpakuto from his back and moved it in front of him. Both Rukia and Renji, however, both jumped out of the way, with Ichigo dealing with the Shrieker. "You're too stubborn!" he shouted, as he quickly slashed the Shrieker into two, just as it reached him.

Both Rukia and Renji landed on the ground of the streets, in front of the group of Hollows that they are currently facing. Upon seeing the two Shinigamis, the rest of the Hollows were all alerted. All three of the Jibakurai lunged at them, with their claws ready to swipe them. However, the two Shinigamis jumped out of the way, before they could get to them, as each of them jumped at each side. One of the Jibakurai turned to face Rukia, who was still in the air, and lunged at her. "Damn!" she shouted, as she drew out her Zanpakuto. As the Jibakurai reached her and attempted to swipe her with its claws, she quickly slashed off its attacking hand and kicked it off from her, sending it crashing to the ground.

When Renji landed on the ground next to the two other Jibakurai, he quickly drew out his Zanpakuto, calling out its name. "**Howl, Zabimaru!**" By placing his hand on the bottom of the blade, he moved up to the top, turning it into a long, six segmented blade. "Take this!" he shouted, as he swung his Zanpakuto to the side, as it extended into a whip. One of the Jibakurai noticed the attack and jumped out of the way, by the other was unfortunate enough to be caught in the blade, as it was being pulled into the swing. "Go down!" he shouted, as he swung his Zanpakuto up, pulling the Jibakurai with it, and then he slammed it back down to the ground, crashing it hard.

Orihime, Uryuu and Chad were able to join up with them in the area, as they could see that the battle has already started. The other Jibakurai, which landed back on the ground, noticed the three arriving in the battle, as they gasped to see it looking at their way. It lunged towards it in the effort of eating them. However, Chad, with his right arm transformed, quickly went in front of the two and punched the Jibakurai hard on its head, sending it flying far away from them. "Inoue-san. Protect Ishida-san, while I join up with the others against the Hollows." he said, as he charged into the battlefield.

Orihime nodded in confirmation. "Right! Stay behind me, Ishida-kun!" she said, as she stood in front of him.

Uryuu nodded. As he stood behind Orihime, a black void appeared behind him, as he noticed it quickly and turned around to look at it. "Inoue-san!" he alerted Orihime, who then turned and see the black void.

Coming out of the black void was another Jibakurai, as it lunged through the void and at the two people. Orihime quickly stood face of the Hollow, as she called out her technique. "**Santen Kesshun!**" A large, triangular barrier appeared in front of her, as it blocked the Jibakurai's lunge. Both her and Uryuu jumped away from it, as she began to call out another technique. "**Koten Zanshun!**" As she called it out, a small and sharp barrier appeared, as it flew straight at the Jibakurai. Just as the triangular barrier disappeared, the small one went through the Jibakurai, cutting it into two, as it disappeared into a blurry mist.

"Thanks, Inoue-san." said Uryuu to her, as she turned to look at him with a smile. However, before they have the time to relax, four more black void appeared around them. "There's more?!" Uryuu shouted, as they positioned themselves to guard themselves from the upcoming attack of the new Hollows.

One of them lunged out of its black void, appearing itself as a Shrieker. Before it could even reach the two of them, Ichigo quickly slashed it off from the sky. "I don't think so!" he shouted as he landed on the ground upon defeating the Shrieker. A large Hollow appeared from the black void next to Ichigo, revealing itself to be a Fishbone. Upon going through the void, it turned its head to look at Ichigo, who quickly turned to face it. With a large cry, it swung one of its arm towards him, which he easily dodged by jumping away. The Fishbone began to move towards Ichigo to attempt to attack him once more, but suddenly, it was attacked by a large energy blast that was shot out at it, as it was disintegrated by it. As Ichigo turned to see who shot it, he saw Chad with his right arm pointing at the direction where the Fishbone was. "Thanks, Chad!" said Ichigo with a smile. Chad responded with a nod.

Two Hollows lunged out of the two last black void, attempting to attack both Orihime and Uryuu. "Inoue-san, look out!" Uryuu shouted, as he and Orihime quickly turned to look at the two Hollows from behind, one of them being the Shrieker and the other, another Jibakurai. Before it could reach them, Ichigo quickly slashed the Shrieker to the side, as well as blocking the Jibakurai's attack from reaching the two of them.

"You two! Move to a safe spot!" shouted Ichigo to the two of them. They both nodded and they ran out of the way of the battle. As Ichigo continued to struggle against its hands, he quickly pushed it off of him and made a quick slash at it, putting an end to it. "Don't waste my time!"

Meanwhile, Rukia was fighting against the last Shrieker, as she dodged every attack that it dived at her. She was trying to find an opening to attack. With another dive being dodged, she found it. "You're open!" she shouted, as she charged at it and slashed off its arm. However, it wasn't done with her yet, as it swung its other arm at her, as she was sent flying to the side. However, she quickly recovered and landed on the ground safely. "Damn it!" she cursed, as she saw the Shrieker lunging at her, as it cried out.

However, Renji's Zanpakuto, Zabimaru, was quickly swung down towards it, its picks stabbing against it. "Not on my watch!" shouted Renji to the side, as he quickly pulled his Zanpakuto towards it, ripping the top of the Shrieker hard, ending it in a painful blow. As Zabimaru returned into its normal lenght, Renji ran up to Rukia to see if she was alright. "Hey, are you ok, Rukia?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Renji."

"Rukia! Renji!" They both heard Ichigo shouting at to them, as they turned to see him and Chad running up to them. As they reached them, Ichigo asked of their condition. "Are you two alright? Nothing bad happened to you?" He received a nod from the two of them. "Alright. That's good to hear." After he had said that, suddenly, numerous of black voids appeared next to them, but not where Orihime and Uryuu were hiding for safety. Numerous of Jibakurai, Shriekers and even a few Fishbones appeared out of those black voids, facing the group. Ichigo growled softly at the sight of them, as he prepared himself to fight once more. "Here we go again!" he shouted, as the rest were in their attack position once more.

However, strangely, the Hollows did not do anything at the sight of that. But instead, they moved out of the way to each of the sides. Behind them, there was someone who appeared himself so suddenly from behind, surprising the others. "What...?" said Rukia, upon seeing that someone.

The mysterious figure began to walk through the way that the Hollows were making way for. As he got closer to them, they could see the appearance of the person. It was a black, muscular and bald man with a black beard, with a pair of golden-yellow eyes. He wore a black jacket, in which the sleeves were assumed to be rippen off of it, as well as red shirt underneath the jacket. He also wore a pair of black pants and black steel boots. He also wore a pair of steel, fingerless gloves. He stared at the group with a serious expression. "... Kurosaki Ichigo." he called out to Ichigo, as he widened his eyes in shock after hearing his name from him. "... I am lucky to find you in this populated city. It saves me the trouble of finding you everywhere in this world."

"What the hell...? Who are you?! Are you the one who controls those Hollows?!" Ichigo shouted at the black man.

The black man smirked. "Indeed. It was a plan to lure you out, by sending a large number of Hollows to find you and to attack you. And it went pretty well, as expected." he said. "Now, to answer your question, allow me to introduce myself to you. I am called Carlos La Bestia."

"... The beast?" said Chad, upon being able to translate the black man's last name.

Carlos nodded. "It seems that one of you understood Spanish. But it is not important now. For I am here for Kurosaki Ichigo."

"What do you want from me...?" asked Ichigo, who was still standing in his offensive position.

"My lord sent me to find one of you, Ichigo. And once I found you, I am ordered to kill you." Carlos said, as he received a shocking gasp from the attacking group. He smirked. "That is right. I am ordered to kill Kurosaki Ichigo, because he is one of our nuisance to our ambition to dominate the fusion universe."

"Fusion... universe?" Rukia asked.

"Correct. But I don't have the time to explain all the details to you, just to waste my time. My lord is growing impatient, and he wants all of you dead, just as he ordered us to do. In fact..." As Carlos said that, he slowly moved himself into his attack position, as he moved his right leg back and moved his arms in front of his face, as if he was in a boxing match to get started. "... Before I can go all out, how about I test out your strength, to see if you're worthy to fight against me?"

Ichigo growled, as he was already to fight against him. "Don't act like you're stronger than me. Just because you look strong doesn't mean that you can beat me, with those hands of yours." he said, as everyone around him are ready to fight alongside with him.

"Heh." Carlos chuckled slightly. "Poor fool. You shouldn't look down at the strength of your opponent, just because those muscles are just for show..." With that said, he moved one of his arm up to the sky, before ramming his fist to the ground, suddenly creating a large wave of the ground being pumped up from its current position, as it moved towards the group in a fast speed.

"What the...?!" Ichigo quickly noticed the attack that Carlos just suddenly made, as he, Chad and Rukia all jumped out of the way from the wave, after noticing it. Renji, however, noticed the large wave a little too late, as it hit him and he was sent flying towards a building from the far back, as he crashed onto it, creating a crater around him.

"Renji!" Rukia cried out, upon seeing Renji being attacked.

"Damn it!" cursed Ichigo, as he dived towards Carlos in a effort to slash him with his Zanpakuto. "You're mine!!" he shouted, as he attempted to slash Carlos as fast and hard as he could. However, before he knew, Carlos stopped his slash, with his hand holding his blade before it could reach even a few inches from him. Ichigo was shocked at how easily he blocked his slash, with only his hand. "What?!"

Carlos smirked. "That sword that you're wielding... Impressive. I can sense the energy radiating from it. You must have put everything into your sword to fight an enemy as strong as me." he said. "However, it seems that it is not enough to slash through my hand, as it is as dull as toy!" As he said that, he pushed his Zanpakuto off from him and quickly moved forward towards Ichigo, thrusting his fist at him, as he was sent crashing towards the pumped ground, which stayed up even after the attack.

"Ichigo!" Rukia cried out to him, as she landed on the ground. Upon looking at Carlos and learning of his strength, she had to use at least a spell against him. She moved her hand at him and called out an incantation of the spell that she was about to use. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"

Carlos heard of the incantation and looked at Rukia, who was preparing to use out the spell. "What is she...?"

"Hado Number 31!" she shouted out. "**Shakkaho!**" A small red ball of energy emerged into her hand, as she shot it out towards the enemy.

Carlos widened his eyes, as he saw the red ball flying towards him at full speed. He quickly moved his hand to guard himself from it, and upon impact, the red ball exploded in his hand, creating a large smoke around him.

Rukia smirked, as she thought that it got him. "That's it." she said. However, when the smoke started to clear, she gasped of shock, upon seeing Carlos still standing, with no sign of scratch on him, even in his hand. "What...?!"

Carlos smirked. "Interesting spell... A spell powerful enough to even defeat the most minor enemies..." he said. "However, it takes more power to even lay a single scratch on me!" As he said that, he quickly moved closer to Rukia, surprising her at how quick and closer he is. He grabbed the top of her hakama and threw her over behind him, sending her flying through one of the windows of a building. "You're just simply weak."

Then, he quickly noticed someone attacking him from the side. He turned around and quickly blocked the attack, finding Chad who had his fist being blocked by a single hand. "What...?!"

"Hm... Yours is even more interesting." he said, as he looked at Chad's armored arm. "Your arm can change into this. I can sense a very powerful energy coming from it. Very interesting indeed..."

In response, Chad shook his fist off of Carlos' grip and attempted to thrust out another attack from the same fist. Carlos easily dodged the attack by moving to the side. Chad then made three consecutive punches, two from his left, and the last on his right. Carlos dodged the two first ones and blocked the last with his hand again. Chad shook his fist off from his grip, just like last time, and stepped back in order to move forward for a charge punch. However, Carlos dodged it as well and in return, he thrust his elbow at Chad, hard enough for him to slide back with his feet. As Chad stopped himself from sliding more, he attempted to make an attack from his technique, by gathering the energy into his right arm and thrust it at Carlos, sending out a large energy blast from it.

As the energy blast got closer and closer to Carlos, he easily deflected it with his arm, by slapping the blast away to the side, as it was moving towards one of the buildings, before it exploded into a fiery mess around the area. Chad widened his eyes in shock, to see his technique being deflected that easily. "That's strange... You seem to be the strong one around here." said Carlos. "But I can see that you're just weak. And that I will quickly put an end to you with just a single punch!" He began to charge at Chad with his fist ready to punch him. Chad quickly moved his arms in front of him in a cross position, with the right in front of the left, in attempt to at least block his attack before it could seriously injure him. With Carlos' fist making contact with Chad's right arm, he called out an attack. "**Fist of the Hundred Slash!**"

As his fist touched Chad's right arm, a series of a hundred swipe was felt into it, as Chad widened his eyes again at the feeling of a hundred slash on his armored arm. After the final slash was dealt, he suddenly felt no control of his right arm anymore. Looking down, he could see that it had a hundred of deep and large, cutting wounds on it. He was shocked to see his arm like that. And it fell limp from him. "My... My arm...!" he said.

However, Carlos quickly moved forward at him, as his eyes were locked into his. "... The end." Carlos said, as he quickly slammed his fist down at Chad's fast, as he was suddenly crashed into the ground by it, creating a large crater around them.

Ichigo was just in time to get out of the pumped grounds that he was crashed into to witness Chad's defeat at the hands of the enemy. His eyes were widen with shock. "CHAD!!!!" he screamed out to his name, as he quickly charged at Carlos with his Zanpakuto, growling out of rage. "YOU BASTARD!!!"

Carlos turned to see Ichigo charging at him. He smirked. "Too slow!" he said, as he thrust his thrust towards Ichigo, hitting him as he was sent back to the pumped grounds. He walked forward just until he was facing it to look at Ichigo, who was struggling to get out of there. "Now, to finish what I had started..." he said, as he placed his hands down on the floor, evoking some kind of a technique. Then suddenly, the grounds around Ichigo were moving somewhere, and before he knew, they envelopped him completely. "**Earth Grave!**" he shouted, as the grounds around Ichigo suddenly tightened themselves, presumably crushing Ichigo in their clutch. He smirked. "... Farewell, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"... **Bankai!**" However, he still heard Ichigo's voice inside of the crushed grounds, as they were all being blasted apart from around him, surprising Carlos. There stood Ichigo, in a different clothing then he was wearing before. He was now wearing a long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat, as well as a pair of black pants. His Zanpakuto's form was different, as it was more shorted and it resembles a long sword with black blade. He stood there, facing Carlos with his eyes filled with anger and determination. "**Tensa Zangetsu!**"

"... His power... it increased." said Carlos, as he noticed the increase of Ichigo's energy and power from within him. He smirked. "... This might be interesting."

With no time to waste, Ichigo quickly disappeared from Carlos' sight, and reappeared behind him, preparing to attack him with a single slash. Carlos noticed Ichigo's presence behind him and turned around, moving his arm in front of him just in time to block Ichigo's slash. However, unlike before, his blade seemed to have cut onto his arm, surprising him. "What...?" Before he could have time to react, Ichigo quickly kicked him with both of his feet, sending him sliding away. He soon stopped however. Carlos then looked at the wound that he received from Ichigo's Zanpakuto. "... Impressive. It's even more power to be able to cut my arm!"

"You didn't see everything yet!" shouted Ichigo, as he moved his Zanpakuto up to the air, before swinging it towards Carlos, making a large stream of black energy from its swing. The stream of energy went flying towards Carlos, as he prepared himself to block it with his hands. As the stream of energy made impact against his hands, he was pushed back from the amount of power within the attack.

"Ngh!" he groaned, as he continued to block the technique, but continued to be pushed back by its power. However, he maintened his balance and ripped the stream of energy apart, as it disappeared. "Hah hah hah! Amazing!" he shouted. "You are proven to be more of a challenge to me, Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"**Bankai!**" Suddenly, he heard another voice from behind him.

"What?" he said, as he turned around to look, before a large head skull of a snake came crashing through the pumped grounds and got him by the jaws, as it flew up to the sky from the grounds. "Ngh!!" he groaned, as he was being pulled up to the sky inside of the snake's jaws. However, he was able to open it wide enough with much effort, as he quickly got off from them, before the head of the snake could close it quickly. As he was falling from the sky, he looked at where the snake came from.

To his surprise, it came from the person who got hit by his first attack. But he also changed, much like Ichigo. Renji wore a fur cowl around his neck, which seemed to be that of an ape, and his weapon was changed into a very long and large skeleton form of a snake, with numerous of segments and resembles a vertebral column and pick-like protrusions on each of its segments. "**Hihio Zabimaru!**" Renji shouted out the name of his second version of his Zanpakuto.

"Him too?" Carlos said. Then, he smirked once more. "... This is even more interesting than I have expected!" With that, he quickly dived down towards Renji through the sky. But not when he was suddenly clashed against Ichigo, who quickly appeared in front of him and blocked his dive with his Zanpakuto. "Still fighting for more, Kurosaki Ichigo?!"

"You're gonna pay for what you've done to Chad, you bastard!" Ichigo growled, as he struggled to keep Carlos in his grasp.

"Oh, don't worry. It'll be your turn soon, once I'm done with him!" Carlos said, as he grabbed one of Ichigo's shoulders and pulled him off to the side, as he resumed his dive at the red-head Shinigami..

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Renji, as he swung his Zanpakuto towards him, as the snake head, which was moved back to Renji's side, was flying towards him once more. However, before the head could reach him, Carlos threw his fists down at it, making it fall down from its target. Carlos increased the speed of his dive, as he was getting closer and closer to Renji. "What?!" he shouted, as he saw him getting closer to him from the sky. Before he could have time to attack him again, Carlos landed on the ground close to him, as he threw his fist up to Renji's chin, making an upercut, which sent him flying up to the air. "Ngh!!"

"You're strong! But you're too slow!" Carlos said, as he jumped up towards Renji. As he found himself just above him, Carlos lifted his fist up, gathering energy into it to form a strong blow. "**Titan's Might!**" he shouted out the name of his technique, before he crashed his fist against Renji. At the sudden impact of it, Renji was suddenly being thrust down to the ground in an abnormal speed. And as he crashed the ground, it created a very large crater around him, resulting from the immense strength of Carlos' technique.

"RENJI!!" cried out Ichigo, upon seeing Renji being crashed to the ground hard.

With was enough time for Rukia to come out of the window that she was crashed through, to see Renji being crashed into the ground in a strength that was abnormal to everyone. She widened her eyes in shock, upon seeing him like that. "NO!!! RENJI!!!" she cried, as she quickly jumped off through the window to get over to where Renji crashed. Upon reaching him, she could see his current condition. He was lying on the crumbled ground, completely immobilize and wounded, as the blood was beginning to flow around him. "Renji! Speak to me!" she cried out to him, holding his shoulders and shaking him, trying to wake him up.

"RUKIA! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" shouted Ichigo. Rukia realized, and she looked up to see Carlos diving down towards both her and Renji, his fist ready to make another destructive attack.

"Say good night, woman!" Carlos shouted, as he was getting closer and closer to her. However, a stream of black energy got him to the side and he was pulled into one of the buildings. As the stream of energy disappeared, yet another one was made after it, hitting Carlos once more, once he was crashed into the building. The process was repeated by Ichigo every time, to keep Carlos trapped in the assault inside of the building.

"Ichigo!" shouted Rukia, as she looked to see Ichigo making an endless wave of black energy.

"Rukia! Get Renji and Chad to Inoue! Hurry!" shouted Ichigo, as he continued to make multiple of slash, creating multiple of streams of energy at Carlos. Rukia nodded, as she grabbed Renji from under the shoulders and pulled him up from the large crater.

As Ichigo made another multiple of streams of energy to keep Carlos busy, the black man suddenly emerged out from the building that he crashed into, punching through each streams of energy that Ichigo sent out at him. "Are you going to keep doing this until you run out of energy!?" shouted Carlos, as he continued to punch his way through each streams of energy.

"I'm not gonna let you hurt my friends anymore, you bastard!" shouted Ichigo, as he continued to make an endless assault of the black stream of energy. "I'm not gonna stop until you go down!" With each and every streams of energy that he shot out at Carlos, he expressed his anger, his hatred and his rage towards him because of the injuries he made on both Renji and Chad. He didn't want to stop. He didn't want to until Carlos is defeated.

**"... Ah... I can feel it!" **Suddenly, he heard a voice somewhere inside of his mind, as he stopped attacking after hearing it.

_'Wait... That voice... No... No, it can't be!' _thought Ichigo, as he widened his eyes in shock, to know who the voice belongs to.

When the streams of energy had stopped firing for some reason, Carlos looked at Ichigo, in attempt to charge at him and strike him down, just like the other two. However, when he looked at him, Ichigo was completely immobilized. "... What?"

**"I can feel your anger, Ichigo... Your desire of winning over an opponent you want to defeat! That desire... I can SENSE it!" **said the voice inside of Ichigo's mind.

Ichigo then felt himself losing his consciousness, upon hearing the voice of a certain person inside of his mind. _'No...! No! I have to control it! I can't let it take over...! My friends are there...! And if I lose control, I'll hurt them!'_

**"Too late, Ichigo!" **said the voice, who cackled, as it was beginning to feel itself taking control of Ichigo, removing his consciousness and replace it with its. **"I'm in control now! And there's nothing you can do to stop me this time! This is MY fight now!!!"**

"No...! Don't...!! STOP!!!" shouted Ichigo, as he began to cry out of agony, as his consciousness was taken away from his body. A large energy was then surrounded around him, as his body was slowly taking over by the spirit inside of him.

Carlos widened his eyes in surprise, as he saw Ichigo crying out in agony, with a strange and unfamiliar strong energy coming from him. "What...?! What is...?!"

When Rukia got the unconscious and injured Renji out of the crater, she looked up to see Ichigo crying out in agony for some reason. "What...?! Ichigo!!" she shouted out to him.

Somewhere next to a building, Orihime and Uryuu were hiding there. But not until they took a look out there to see Ichigo crying out in agony. "What the...?! What's wrong with Kurosaki?!" shouted Uryuu.

Orihime widened her eyes in shock, as she felt a strong and powerful Reiryoku coming from Ichigo. But it felt rather different than Ichigo's. And it was more savage. "Kurosaki-kun...!"

Ichigo continued to cry out of agony, as he was losing his consciousness completely. With that, a stream of white energy was gathering around his face, plunging itself into it before it started to take form. Ichigo looked up to the sky, unable to control himself, as he lost control of his body. And that the spirit inside of him started to take control of it. He stopped crying out, at the same time as the energy was formed onto his face. He was immobilized for a few seconds, before something happened. **"... Heh... Heh heh... Heh heh heh heh...! Hah hah hah hah hah hah!!!" **he cackled suddenly, in a voice that is very different than what he used to sound like, as it was more distorted and more inhuman.

Carlos widened his eyes in surprise, to see Ichigo cackling like that in a demonic voice. "What is this...? What happened?"

Ichigo continued to cackle outloud, until later on, he soon stopped cackling. His face was still facing up to the sky. **"Finally...! I am free again! It is so good to have been freed from that awful and goddamned place! It was starting to get boring in there...!"**

"... What... What is the meaning of this? What happened to you, Kurosaki Ichigo?!"

**"Ichigo...? Oh yeah, that weak pussy! Ichigo is out of the way for now, big guy!" **he shouted, as he moved his head back down to face Carlos straight in his eyes again.

The sight of Ichigo's face made Carlos gasped a little. "... What...?!"

Ichigo's face was now more demonic and more Hollow like. The left side of his face was covered by a Hollow mask, a half of a face shaped like a skull, with three red stripes on the top of it. And his eyes were no longer brown, but the entire eyes were all black, with a golden-yellow orb in each of his eyes. He was grinning menacingly at his opponent. **"I'm your opponent now, big guy! I'm gonna show him how to really kill someone like you!"** he shouted, as he quickly appeared right in front of Carlos, surprising him a little. Then, he grabbed the collar of his red shirt and threw him over behind him. As he was sent flying, Ichigo's Hollow self immediately launched out a quick stream of black energy at him, hitting him as he was sent flying faster than normal.

"Ngh!!!" Carlos groaned, as he was hit by the stream of energy. However, before he could have the chance to recover, he found the same stream of energy flying next to him, as it moved itself at him, pulling him into a building hard.

Hollow Ichigo cackled, after making that move. **"See that, Ichigo?! That's how you beat up a guy! Just attack him before he has the time to react! This is how you kill!!" **With that, he quickly launched another stream of energy towards his downed opponent, who was still inside of the building.

However, the stream of energy has been spread back, as Carlos was already up from the crash and punched it hard. He quickly looked at Ichigo to witness the difference from before and now. "His energy is really different...! And he has a large intent to kill...!" he said. It wasn't before long that another stream of energy was launched towards him, as he punched it off once more.

Hollow Ichigo continued to launch out an assault of black stream of energy at his opponent, cackling all the way through, as he got him cornered. **"HAH HAH HAH HAH!!!! Die! Die! Die! Die! DIE!!!" **he repeatedly said, through each and every stream of energy that he launched.

While it was keeping on going, Rukia watched in shock at the battle that was becoming more feroucious than normal. "Ichigo...?!"

"Kurosaki is insane!" shouted Uryuu, as he watched how the battle was unfold right now. "He's not his usual self anymore! He's something of a monster right now!"

Orihime could only watch in horror, as she watched Ichigo assaulting his enemy with countless of streams of energy. Just the sight of him attacking and cackling at the same time... Made her scared. It wasn't the same Kurosaki-kun that she remembered. He was very different... And very monstrous. "No... No, Kurosaki-kun...!" she whispered, as tears started to form in her eyes, as she continued to watch the battle. She couldn't take it anymore. Ichigo isn't himself anymore. She had to stop him and make him snap out of it! "Kurosaki-kun!!!" she shouted, as she ran towards Ichigo recklessly.

"No! INOUE-SAN!!!" cried out Uryuu, as he reached out his hand towards her and tried to stop her from going straight to Ichigo.

As Orihime passed through Rukia, she shouted out to her as well. "Orihime! No! It's too dangerous!!" However, Orihime ignored them. She ignored them in hopes to try and stop Ichigo's maniacal assault.

Carlos continued to punch through each and every stream of energy that Hollow Ichigo shot out at him, at the very same way as before. "Damn it...! I don't have time to do this forever!" he shouted through each of his punches. However, when he looked elsewhere, he saw Orihime running towards Ichigo for some reason. He had an idea, as he smirked. "That's it..." he said, as he quickly disappeared from Hollow Ichigo's view, before the stream of energy could touch him.

**"What?! Where the hell are you?!" **shouted Hollow Ichigo, as he looked around to see if Carlos was anywhere in the area.

Orihime soon stopped, as she saw him stop firing for some reason. However, before she could have time to do something, she suddenly felt a presence behind her, as he took hold of her around her body. "You will do much." said Carlos, as he was able to take hold of her. Then, the both of them disappeared.

"Orihime! No!" shouted Rukia, as she saw both Orihime and Carlos disappearing together.

Hollow Ichigo was still looking around vigorously for his enemy. **"Damn it! Come out, you son of a bitch! I know you're out there!!" **he growled at Carlos, somewhere.

"I'm right here, Kurosaki Ichigo." He heard Carlos' voice somewhere in front of him. He looked over there to see him standing on the ground, with Orihime being lifted from the ground and grasp on her head by his hand. "Do not attempt to do anything, when I have her in my hold!"

Hollow Ichigo stared at his enemy with Orihime in his hand. Then, he grinned. **"What? We're playing hostage now?! Don't make me laugh, jackass!" **he said, as he landed on the ground, after being on the air for a long period of time. **"What good will come if you take her as hostage?! Nothing is going to work on me, asshole!"**

"... Kuro... saki-kun...!" Orihime whimpered, as her head was still in Carlos' hold. She couldn't do anything, with the fear of him crushing her head in his hand with the tremendous strength of his.

"But she is your ally, Kurosaki Ichigo!" shouted Carlos. "You don't want anything to happen to her, do you?!"

**"I don't care!" **he scoffed. **"If you want to kill her, then fine! Let me see her death with your hand!"**

Orihime gasped quietly. She couldn't believe her ears... Ichigo didn't care about her dying in the hands of the enemy? It really isn't the same Kurosaki-kun that she remembered...

"Hmph... We'll see about that." Carlos said, as he began to strengtened his hold on Orihime's head, as she cried out of pain of her head being tightened in his hold.

At the sound of her cry, Hollow Ichigo suddenly became immobilized. And then, he felt that his body was reacting against his own will. **"What...?! No...! This can't be!" **he shouted out, as he was unable to control his body still. **"Not now! I didn't even got started yet! Damn it, Ichigo! Let me have some fun!!!" **Hollow Ichigo cried out of struggle, as he was battling to take control of his body from Ichigo, who was beginning to regain control of it. However, his left hand suddenly took a hold on the top of the half of his mask, as it began to pull it off of his face. **"NO!!! NOT NOW!!!" **Hollow Ichigo cried out, as the moment where the mask was taken off, he lost control of the body, and he was being put back deep inside of Ichigo's mind.

With that done, Ichigo was panting hard, having being able to regain control of his body from his Hollow self. He was lucky to have regain control of it. Or otherwise, everything will be put into chaos with it rampaging around. After a while, he looked at Carlos, who was holding Orihime in his hold by the head. He widened his eyes. "No! Inoue! Let her go!"

"Hmph... I will let her go." started Carlos. "... If you surrender to me and face your death."

"Let her go! or else, I'll...!" Ichigo was about to move forward, however, when Carlos saw the moment of his movement, he began to increase his hold on her head, making her cry out of pain once more. It stopped Ichigo at the moment where it was heard. "Inoue!"

"Move any closer, or I will crush her head like an egg!" warned Carlos. "That goes for the rest of you as well!"

"... Kurosaki...-kun...!" whimpered Orihime, who was still becoming hopeless in that kind of situation.

Ichigo couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand the sight of Orihime being hurt because of him. It was because of him that she was now like this. All because of his anger towards his opponent. Now, he had to decide between two options. To surrender and that Orihime lives, or to resist and that Orihime dies. "I'm begging you...! Let her go! She's not worth it! It's me that you want, right?! Let her go and you will have your way with me!"

"Then choose, ignorant Shinigami!" shouted Carlos. "This is all about life and death! If you surrender to me, then she will live! Resist any further, and your friend's head will be as crushed as an egg! Decide, Kurosaki Ichigo! Life or death?! To let her live or to leave her to die?!"

Ichigo was feeling hopeless in this kind of situation. He had a hard time trying to choose... He wanted to live, just because there are still some things that he had to take care of before he could die peacefully. But he really wanted Orihime to live, because he couldn't stand losing another friend to die.

As Carlos waited for his answer for far too long, he scoffed, as he decided to end it with one thought in mind. "So undecisif...! If that's how it is, then say good bye to your friend!" he shouted, as he was about to strengten his hold completely.

At the sound of it, Ichigo widened his eyes in shock and fear. "NO!!! INOUE!!!"

"ORIHIME!!!" Rukia cried out to her.

"INOUE-SAN!!!" Uryuu shouted out to her.

However, suddenly, before he could do that, his arm that was holding Orihime suddenly got cut off, as he widened his eyes to see it happen. "Wh... What...?!" he said.

Just as Orihime was about to fall off, she was suddenly being taken away from Carlos, and reapeared next to Ichigo in the arms of a mysterious person. "... Wh... What...?" she whispered, as she looked up to see who was holding her. At the sight of her face, she gasped.

"... Man, oh man... You're really helpless in this kind of situation, huh, Ichigo?" said the mysterious person who is holding Orihime.

Ichigo gasped, as he remembered the appearance of that person. Blond hair with a school uniform... "... Shin... Shinji?!"

Shinji looked at him with a sneaky smirk. "Surprised? Well, I was expecting that, since I'm supposed to be at school at this time of the hour... But I still got ten minutes left before class is about to begin."

Carlos looked down at his severed arm, surprised to see it being cut by someone with much of an effort. "... Impressive... He cut off my arm... Without me noticing his presence..." he said, ignoring the burning pain that resides in his arm. He looked at the two Shinigamis with a satisfying smirk. "... Kurosaki Ichigo... It seems that you have a lot of allies who could be a match against me... Just like him, for example." he said, as he looked at Shinji.

Shinji lend the injured Orihime into Ichigo's arms, as the orange-haired Shinigami unexpectedly caught her in them. "Take care of Inoue-san, Ichigo. I'll take care of the rest now."

"Shinji..." said Ichigo.

"Come on, Ichigo. The princess is safe. And all you have to do is to get her to safety. Don't worry about me. It won't take long before I finish this guy off." Shinji said, as he drew out his Zanpakuto from its sheath. He moved his eyes to the side to look at Ichigo once more, as he smirked at him. "Getting your friends to safety is one of the important tasks that you have to do. It's what a true warrior does, right?"

Ichigo didn't say anything for the moment, but he slowly nodded at what Shinji said to him. "... Alright... I'll take her to safety." he said, as he jumped off from Shinji to rejoin his remaining allies, with Orihime in his arms.

Shinji nodded to see Ichigo jumping out of the way, as he looked back at the injured enemy. "Well... Looks like it's just you and me." he said.

Carlos, however, chuckled, as he took a few steps back from the blond Vizard. "Heh heh... Sorry about that. But with my arm being slashed off by you, there is no reason for me to be able to continue on... For now." he said, as a black void suddenly appeared from behind him. "Kurosaki Ichigo is strong... However, he is far too fragile to be able to decide between life and death, for the safety of his comrades, and for the death of them."

Shinji, although that he was fighting by Ichigo and the others' side, couldn't decline that fact, after seeing him taking a risk of deciding which one that he would choose. "Indeed. He hated to see his friends hurt. It was hard for him to try and bring about the safety for them."

"Heh heh heh..." Carlos continued to chuckled, as he was backing away closer and closer to the black void. "One of the heroes of the prophecy...? How can he be the one, when his heart is too fragile to decide on its own? He is a fool to have ever let his comrades fight alongside with him, when he could not stand seeing them hurt..." As he was getting far more closer to the void, it slowly engulfed his body, as he was beginning to disappear into it. "The Substitute Shinigami... A fragile being who is not worthy to gain the title of Hero..." he said, before he completely disappeared into the black void, which vanished after his departure.

Shinji raised his eyebrow, upon hearing some of the words that he said. "... One of the heroes... of the prophecy?" he wondered. When that guy said that... Does that mean that Ichigo is a hero of some sort? Well, he couldn't deny that, since he said Rukia from being executed, but still... Is Ichigo really that kind of a hero? He sighed, as he let go of that thought, as he sheathed his Zanpakuto back into its sheath. He decided to walk over to the others, to see if they are alright.

Ichigo was seen kneeing down on the ground, with Orihime in his arms. He looked down at her face with his eyes filled with regret and failure. He had let Carlos injured her when he was acting so recklessly, and that he lost control of himself to his Hollow self. He couldn't forgive himself of being so reckless. "... It's all my fault..." he said. "... I couldn't protect them... And I almost lost Inoue, if I weren't so reckless..."

"Kurosaki... It's not your fault." said Uryuu, as he placed his hand on one of his shoulders from behind, to comfort him. "That guy was too strong... And you tried your best to defeat him as much as possible. It's not your fault that the others are injured..."

Around that time, Rukia was pulling Chad towards the group, having being able to pull Renji to safety before. "The Hollows are gone. Looks like the city is safe from more danger for the time being..." she said to the others.

Ichigo still couldn't cope out the feeling of letting his friends hurt, because of his recklessness. The feeling of unable to protect his friends was something that he couldn't get over with. "Renji..." he said, as he looked at the defeat red-head Shinigami. "Chad..." He then looked at the severely damaged Chad. "... Inoue..." He then looked back down at the young aubern-haired girl, who looked at him with her pained eyes. "... I'm sorry... All of you..."

At that time, Shinji walked over to the group, stretching his arms up to the sky to relieve himself from being cripple much. "Well... The big guy is gone. So everything is alright for now. Good to see that most of you are safe." he said. He then looked down at ichigo, who he found him still looking regretful because of everything that happened to his friends. Shinji sighed. "Come on, Ichigo. It's not so bad. The princess will recover soon enough, and she'll be able to heal the two guys in no time. It's not something to regret about."

"... You don't understand..." said Ichigo, who didn't want to look up to Shinji with the feeling of regret inside of his heart. "... I'm not strong enough... I'm not strong enough to protect them! I let them get hurt by Carlos and because of that, I lost control of myself again! If I keep this up... I wouldn't be able to save them again... And it'll be all my fault....!" He gritted his teeth, as the anger of not being able to save his allies was running through his body.

"... Kurosaki-kun..." Orihime whispered, as she could feel how much it caused him pain. It wasn't hs fault that she got hurt. It was her need to stop him that made her hostage to the enemy. She didn't want to see Ichigo hurt like that. It pained her heart to see him like that.

Shinji sighed. As he went over to Ichigo and Orihime, he suddenly kicked the orange-haired Shinigami to the side of his head, sending him flying a few feet away from them, as well as letting Orihime go at the moment of the kick. Everyone are shocked to see this. "Ichigo!" shouted out Rukia.

Shinji walked over to Ichigo once more, as the Shinigami was trying to get up from the ground after the kick. "Damn... What the hell is up with that moody attitude, Strawberry?" he said, looking down at him as if he was inferior to him. "So the others are hurt, but what's the problem? If they're hurt, they're hurt. It's not like they're dead or something. You shouldn't be worrying about not being able to protect them, like you said so before. There is always a next time, Ichigo. It's not something that you can regret about."

"But... But I'm not strong enough..."

"So? You can always train yourself to become strong enough to protect your friends. That guy won't be back for a long time, with that severed arm of his." He awaited to see if Ichigo had something to say, but all he received as Ichigo being speechless, looking down at the ground once more before of the feeling that he still held in his heart. He sighed once more. "... If you really want to protect your friends that much... Then there is only one option that you gotta take." he said, as he lend out his hand to the downed Shinigami, who looked at it and looked as if he didn't understood what Shinji was trying to do, until later, he realized.

"... You mean...?"

"... Join me, Ichigo. And we will help you overcome your Hollow powers and become one of us, a Vizard. There, you will be able to grow strong enough to protect your friends from any harm. To be a Vizard... also means that you can overcome any challenges that might occur to you. So what do you say?"

Ichigo had nothing to say for the moment. If he joins Shinji, he'll become one of them. However, he wasn't sure if it's right for him to do so. He is a Shinigami, a warrior born to slay Hollows. If he becomes a Vizard, he'll be a Shinigami with Hollow powers. At first, he didn't want to join Shinji and his gang of Vizards. But when he looked at the others, who all looked at him, waiting to see his decision about it, especially Orihime, who looked as if she didn't want to see him in more pain than she had. _'... Inoue...' _he thought. However, now, he had nothing to be undecisif about. As he closed his eyes, he grabbed hold of Shinji's hand, lifting himself up from the ground, as he opened his eyes once more. "... I'll do it. I will become a Vizard, if it takes to protect my friends from harm.

Shinji smiled at his decision. "Good to hear. Welcome to the group, Ichigo. I'll make sure that you won't regret it even once." Ichigo nodded. But still, could him becoming a Vizard be able to protect his friends? Is its power strong enough to be able to protect them from any enemies that he fought against? He could wonder...

"... Kurosaki-kun... It'll be alright..." He heard Orihime's voice, as he looked at her to see her standing up from the ground.

However, at the moment that she stood up, she suddenly lost balance and was about to fall down, until Rukia quickly got up to her and hold her steady. "Orihime, be careful..."

"... You have nothing to worry about, Kurosaki-kun..." Orihime said, as she looked up to Ichigo and gave him a soothing smile. "As long as I'm ok, there is nothing that will bring me harm, once you become stronger... I have faith in you, Kurosaki-kun... And I am sure that you'll be able to protect us from anything, once you become stronger..."

"... Inoue..." Ichigo was touched by her words. As long as she is ok, there is nothing to worry about. He smiled back and nodded. "... I will. Don't worry."

Shinji smiled at the two of them. However, when he looked down at his watch, he groaned, which got everyone's attention. "Aw man... I only have one minute left, before the next period starts... Well, gotta get going now. Take care of yourself." he said, as he began to walk away from the group.

"Hey, hold on just a minute, Hirako-san." said Uryuu, who wanted to ask him something. "Did you find anything about the large Reiryoku inside of the school?"

Shinji shook his head. "Sadly, no. I still have a long way to go, before I could find out where it is... However, there is only one thing that got my curious..."

"What is it?" asked Rukia, curious to know what Shinji found out other than the Reiryoku.

"There is something special about the boy... Ibuki Keita-san."

"The boy from the rooftop?"

Shinji nodded. "Yes. It's not that he is not a normal human being, but when I spoke to him... It looked like he was rejecting having friends for some reason. But I think I know why he rejected them..." As he said that, everyone's curiosity increased. "... It may be possible that something terrible has happened to him in the past... Which made him stray away from the others. I don't know which, but I'll find out soon..." He then looked back at the group. "Tell you what. I'll try to persuade him into coming with me to meet up with you guys. It'll be fine, since he can see Shinigamis. So meet me in front of an entrance ot a certain mall, alright?" He received a nod from all of them. "Alright. Catch you guys later." With that, he jumped off from the ground and into the direction of the school.

After hearing what Shinji said about the boy, Ichigo began to wonder... Something terrible had happened to him... Which caused him to see spirits, such as Shinigamis. What kind of event made him be able to see them, and what made him stray away from friendships? "... Ibuki Keita..."

----------

Inside of the school, in one of the hallways, with only one minute left before the next period starts, Keita was seeing standing on the wall once more, looking down at the picture that he was holding in his hand. His eyes were filled with sorrow, at the sight of a single person from that photo.

Inside of it was a picture taken in his ninth birthday. The young Keita in this photo was looking at the camera strangely, with a party hat on his head. There are two others in this photo. A young, short auburn-haired girl who seemed to be at least 2 years older than him and the one next to him was a long, black-haired woman, who was smiling at the camera, holding her son in her hands, while she and the young girl smiled at the camera, with the young Keita still looking at it strangely.

The sight of the black-haired woman, his mother, made hims reminisce about the past, about the terrible day that cost her mother's life... However, before it happened, when the two of them were taking a stroll around the city, they came across a woman... With the same face as his mother. And after that, an accident occurred... A large accident that costed his mother's life... And the memory was tainted into his mind for all those years to come...

"... Mom..."

**End of chapter**

Hey there. It's me again, with another action-filled chapter! I hope this is good, because I did everything I could to make the fight more possible and original... I guess. Well, I don't see anything bad, while writing the chapter, so it's all good!

If you guys are wondering who Keita is, he's from KuroKami (Black God). However, there is a large difference between his version in both the manga and the anime. His manga counterpart is a straight up guy who always spends money of his friend, and is a video game developper. He's really much of a jackass. But in the anime version, he's a highschool student who is calm and honest, but usual doesn't want to make any friends, because of certain events from the past. He's not really antagonistic as his manga counterpart. If you guys wanna know more about him, go watch the anime or the manga... Oh yeah. And in this fic, I chose the anime counterpart in the story.

Anyways, you guys all know about the mangas/animes that I put in the fic, right? Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, DragonBall Z, FullMetal Alchemist, Inuyasha, Soul Eater, KuroKami and Gundam 00, right? Well, here's the thing. I'm gonna ask you guys to name certain mangas/animes that you want me to put in the fic, and I might consider doing it. However, those mangas won't necessarily have a bigger role in the fic than the other 9. But still, it's pretty nice to add those mangas up.

Well, Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	10. Chapter 9: Ending the Phenomenon?

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashback_

**Zanpakuto/Technique**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes.

**Chapter 9:**

**Ending the Phenomenon?  
**

It had been a while since the battle against Carlos La Bestia, a mysterious man who had been sent to Tokyo to kill Ichigo, by someone that the group doesn't know. The area seemed to be in a much critical condition, considering how powerful and dangerous the battle was. Right now, the group were still resting in the same battlefield, as Orihime was trying to heal both Renji and Chad from the injuries they had from their battle against the black man. Chad had the most serious injuries, as his right arm had several of deep cuts all over, from the technique that he received from the same man.

As the two unconscious people were lying on the ground, Orihime was using a technique that will heal them up, as a large, half oval sphere enveloped them around. It took her a while to at least heal the most of their injuries, but she had done it, as the half oval sphere disappeared from them. "Alright. I have done everything I can for them..." Orihime said.

It didn't take long for at least one of them to regain their consciousness. Renji slowly opened his eyes after regaining it and, after he remembered what happened back then, he quickly sat up from the ground, surprising everyone around him. "Wh... What...?"

"Renji! You're alright!" said Rukia, smiling to see him alright.

"What... What happened...?" Renji began to ask. Then, he quickly remembered Carlos, the one who had defeated him before. He started to look around to find him. "Where's that bastard?! Where is he, damn it?!"

"Renji, it's alright. He's gone for now..."

The redhead Shinigami groaned, as he could still feel a slight pain living inside of his body. "Damn... That guy really took a beating out of me... It's a miracle that I survived..." he said. Then, he looked at the others. "Are you guys alright? Nothing too serious, I hope?" He received a shook from all of them, as he gently sighed of relief. "Thank God that we're still alive..."

Ichigo nodded, then he looked down at Chad, who didn't look like that he was about to wake up anytime soon. Looking at his right arm, most of the wounds are healed, but not all of them. And it still looked like it was in a critical condition. "Inoue. Chad's arm... Can it be healed completely?"

Orihime sadly shook her head. "No... I've done everything I can for Sado-kun... His arm is still in a worst condition... And he might not be able to move it anymore..."

"... Then we'll just have to take him to a local hospital, where they will treat his arm well." said Uryuu. "Inoue-san and I will take him there. You guys can wait here, if you want. As the time pretty much passed by, the school will probably end pretty soon. And the two of us will have to meet up with Hirako-san at the entrance of the mall near the school. What do you guys think?"

Ichigo nodded at what Uryuu said. "Alright. You guys will do that. If there's anything you wanna talk about with us, don't hesitate to come looking for us. Alright?"

Uryuu nodded. "Alright. Then take care, Kurosaki. That goes for you two as well, Kuchiki-san, Abarai-san." he said, as he began to place one of Chad's arm over his shoulders. He awaited for Orihime to do the same.

She nodded, as she did the same thing as Uryuu, with Chad's other arm, the injured one. As the two of them began to lift Chad up from the ground, Orihime took one last look at Ichigo and the others, smiling. "We'll meet up with each other as soon as possible. Alright?"

Ichigo nodded. "Right. Take care, you two." he said. Orihime nodded and both her and Uryuu began to walk forward to where they hoped the hospital is, with the unconscious Chad around their shoulders. They ignored the weight that he had, as he was still injured from the fight. Ichigo watched as the three of them are starting to disappear from their sight, his eyes showed concern for the big guy. "... Chad... Please be alright soon..."

----------

Dong! Ding! Dang! Dong!

That was the last bell that ringed, indicating the end of the last period of class, and the end of the school day. Around that time of the boy, students would usually get out of school to go home. But there are some activities to do even after school, like music, art, drama class and gymnastic. That was how things work in the schools of Japan. After a day of school, they would usual go for some activities.

Shinji was seen standing next to the gate, waiting for a certain person to come out so he could persuade him to come with him. Shinji wasn't able to find the source of the large Reiryoku hidden in school, but he placed that on hold for now, as his curiosity was for Ibuki Keita, the boy who can see Shinigamis. But, just to be sure... As he slid his hand in one of his pockets, and pulling out a cellphone, he opened up and dialed a certain black-raven hair Shinigami, whom had gave him her number just in case that there are something that he wanted to warn them about.

_"Hello?" _said Rukia, coming from his cellphone.

"Hey, it's me. Can you guys have a second to talk?"

_"Sure. What is it?"_

"Well, I wasn't able to find the source of the Reiryoku, and I'm about to start trying to get Ibuki-san to come hang out with me. If it is successful, I want you guys to go to the school to find the Reiryoku for me, after a certain time has passed, so that all of the students left. It's alright that you guys can't sense it, but I want you to search high and low for it."

_"Hm... Understood. Renji, Ichigo and I will go and look for it. Orihime and Uryuu will meet up with you at the entrance of the mall that is the closest to the school."_

Shinji nodded. "Alright. Then all is well for everything. I'll see you later, once we're both done with everything." he said, as he closed his cellphone, ending the call. AT the same time, he saw someone leaving the gate with his bicycle in his hold. The same familiar hair and face is not something that Shinji will forget. As Keita got out, the Vizard quickly went over next to him. "Hey there!" he said with a smile.

Keita turned his head to see the smiling Shinji walking by his side. "Oh, it's you again. How's your first day of school?"

"It's been fine. Nothing too bad happened to me, after all. You know what I mean?"

Keita nodded. "Yeah, I guess..."

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"I got some friends who would like to hang out with me at the mall. But I was thinking that if you want to come with me to hang out with us?"

"Oh... Um... I don't know... I don't think I have the time to hang out with you guys..."

"Come on! It'll be fine, I promise ya! And we'll get to know each other well, as well as my friends! So don't be shy! It'll be alright!"

Keita still looked like he wasn't in the mood of hanging out with someone that he just met. He still wanted to keep his distance from people, because of some events that happened to him before. "I'm sorry, but I... I don't think I can..."

Shinji decided to ignore what the young Ibuki was going to say, as he slapped his back. "You won't regret it! I promise ya! Now let's get going!" he said, as he wasted no time of pulling Keita with him towards the direction of where the closest mall is.

"H-hey! Wait a minute! I didn't say that I...!" Keita was about to protest, but before he knew, he was coming along with the new student of the school.

----------

It has been a while since Orihime and Uryuu were able to get Chad to the hospital so that they can treat him fine. Now, they were found standing right in front of the entrance of the mall where they both decided to meet up with Shinji and maybe Keita over there. They have been waiting for them for at least a few minutes, just when they reached there, but before they knew, someone was calling out to them.

"Hey! Inoue-san! Ishida-san!" The two of them both turned to see Shinji, who was walking towards them with his arm high to the air, waving at them, with Keita walking alongside with him with his bicycle still in his hold. "Good to see you guys here!" Shinji said, as the two of them met up with the others.

"Oh! Good afternoon, Hirako-kun!" said Orihime with a cheerful smile. She then looked at Keita, as soon as she looked at Shinji. "Oh! And you brought a friend along too! Well, it's good to have some more company with us around!"

Shinji nodded, then he looked at Keita, who looked like he wasn't really in the right mood to see them. "How about you introduce yourself to them, Ibuki-san? Don't worry. They're as nice as a mice, I assure you."

"Uh... But..." Keita wasn't so sure if it was a good idea to hang out with them, but he was already stuck into this, so he had no other options. "Um... I'm... Ibuki Keita. It is nice to meet you..."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you too, Ibuki-kun!" said Orihime in the same cheerful voice that she always let out, everytime she met someone for the first time. "The name is Inoue Orihime!"

"And I am Ishida Uryuu." said Uryuu, after Orihime introduced herself to the young boy. "We met each other back at the rooftop of the school."

"Yeah, I realized..." said Keita.

With the introduction done with the three of them, Shinji clasp his hands together, as he was ready to start out a fun afternoon with everyone, especially for Keita. "Well, since we all introduced ourselves to each other, let's get started with everything, starting with the mall! You don't mind, do you, Ibuki-san?"

"Uh... Actually, you kinda forced me into this..."

"Oh, don't worry, Ibuki-kun!" said Orihime, who still had her cheerful smile shining out to the young boy. "There's nothing to be afraid about! It's all about friends hanging out with each other to know a lot about each other! So once you get to know us, you'll be fine!"

Uryuu nodded with what she said. "She's right. I know that you look like you're not someone who is sociable with anyone else, but I assure you, there's nothing wrong with being friends with us. So you don't have to worry about it, as long as we're here. Alright, Ibuki-san?"

Keita looked at the two of them, his eyes still filled with undecisif matter. He wasn't feeling the mood to be friends with them, still, but they both seemed alright, and already in good terms with him. He wanted to leave them out just so he could get home as soon as possible, but seeing at how the situation was developped... He sighed. "Well... It's already too late to fall back now." he said. "Alright. Let's all have a good time with one another."

"Glad that you decided to come along with us, Ibuki-san!" said Shinji, as he smiled at the young boy. "Don't worry. We'll definitely have a great time together, to don't expect less of it!" Both Orihime and Uryuu nodded at what Shinji said, as they felt the same way for Keita.

The young, brown-haired boy shrugged. "I guess so..."

However, before they would begin to have fun in the mall, they heard a surprised gasp coming from someone, behind Orihime and Uryuu. "Keita-kun?" said the person from behind. As Shinji and Keita looked up ahead to see who it is, with Orihime and Uryuu looking to the back, Keita widened his eyes, surprised to see a familiar someone that he bumped into within the crowd.

It was a grown woman with long, auburn hair in which the back was tied into a ponytail, as well as a pair of sky blue eyes. She seemed to be between the age of 18 and 19. What she was wearing is an employee uniform, consisting of a purple coat, with a white buttoned shirt underneath it, as well as a tie around the collar, along with a skirt at the same color, around the knee-length. She was also wearing black high heels, as well as a black pantyhose. She also held a purse on her shoulder, just like any other women would do. "Keita-kun! I'm surprised to see you at this unusual time! Oh, and you brought some friends to hang out with!" said the auburn-haired woman.

"Oh, Akane-san. Nice to see you too." said Keita, who is as surprised as his friend over there.

"Hey, who's this fine lady, Ibuki-san?" asked Shinji, upon looking at Keita's friend, who he called Akane.

"Oh, well... This is Sano Akane. She's my childhood friend. You might think that she seemed a little too old to be my childhood friend, but that's really the case..."

Akane bowed to the others, whom she thought that they're Keita's friends. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Orihime bowed to her as well, keeping the same cheerful expression on her face. "Hi there! My name is Inoue Orihime!" she introduced to herself.

"Ishida Uryuu." said Uryuu.

"And Hirako Shinji. Pleased to meet you as well, Sano-san." said Shinji. "And we're pals with old Ibuki-san right here! And we're really in good terms with one another!"

"Um... We're not exactly pals, Shinji-san, since you kinda pulled me into this..." corrected Keita.

"Well, it's still good to see you making friends, Keita-kun." said Akane, who smiled at the fact that he was around some people to hang out with, for once. "I thought for sure that you won't be able to make friends anytime soon, but I'm glad that you're able to right now."

"So... What are you doing here, Sano-san?" asked Orihime.

"Oh, I just finished my shift at the bank that I worked in. Now I'm heading to the apartment where Keita-kun lived, so that I can prepare some things for him for a while." replied Akane. She was about to go back home after her shift, but since she bumped into Keita, and that he was hanging out with the others, she had an idea. "Hey, what do you say that I join you guys with whatever you're doing?"

"Oh, really? That'll be great, Sano-san!" said Orihime, happy to have another person to come along with them. Both Uryuu and Shinji nodded in agreement, but Keita wasn't so sure about that.

"Um... Akane-san, are you sure about this? You seemed kind of tired after working there..."

"Oh, don't be silly, Keita-kun! I'm still as tough as they come! I can take care of even a hundred of people, without being absolutely tired from it!" she said, as she giggled a little. "So, if I'm not too much of a bother to you, can I come with you guys, please?"

Keita thought about it a little... It was already a bother that he was being pulled in by Shinji to hang out with the others. And with Akane there, it would be rude to decline her to join them. So what was it that he was going to do? He gave up, since he didn't want to upset his friend. "Alright. You can come with us."

"Thank you, Keita-kun!" said Akane, smiling at her childhood friend.

"Alright!" exclaimed Shinji, as he raised his fist up in the air. "The more people we have, the more fun that we can share! So let's get to it, everyone! And let's have some fun!"

"Yo!" exclaimed Orihime, as she pumped both of her fists up in the air in the same matter as Shinji. Uryuu and Akane nodded and Keita just simply shrugged in response to that. It was going to be a long day for the young Keita, with this many people to hang out with. But he had to be careful not to get too close to them, or else...

----------

Certain time has passed. It had been a while since all of the students seemed to have finished their after school activity with one another and left the school, just as the sun was setting from the sky, as it was turning bright orange... Well, usually, since the sky was still blood red. As expected, the three Shinigamis were standing on a branch of a tree each, the same tree where they were waiting for Shinji to come back from certain things. Right now, they were instructed by Shinji to search around the school for the source of the large Reiryoku. Even though that they couldn't sense it, they might as well go search around the school to find it.

Rukia looked down at the school, watching to see if there are still more students left to get outside. Luckily, certain times had already passed, and the coast was clear. "Looks like they're all out." said Rukia, as she concluded that all of the students left there. "It's alright to search around the place for the large Reiryoku."

Renji nodded. "Let's get started." he said, as he jumped off from the tree and into the school grounds, followed by the two other Shinigamis. As they all landed on the grounds, Renji took a look around the area, trying to search if there was anything that didn't seem too obvious to search around for. "Hm... Shinji did searched for the source of the Reiryoku inside of the school, so that one is out."

Ichigo nodded in agreement. "Yeah. So all we have left is to search around the outside, where ever the Reiryoku is..." he said. The two others both nodded in agreement to what Ichigo said. "Let's get going, guys. Search for whatever isn't obvious to look at." he said, as the three Shinigamis began to scatter themselves around the school grounds, in search for the Reiryoku.

It wasn't that easy to find the ignorable spots, however. They searched around for everything. Bushes, trees, garbage... Well, it was gross into going there. And it was Rukia who took a look through it... Anything that is not necessarily an obvious thing led the Shinigamis to nowhere. Even the most ignorant thing won't be enough to help them.

Ichigo continued to search around the grounds anyway, after certain time has passed, along with Rukia and Renji. They won't stop until they find it, so they could try and bring an end to the phenomenon that might bring havoc to their home. After strolling around the school grounds for some time, Ichigo sighed. "Damn it... It's not in the inside of the school, and it's not in the school grounds too. Just where could it be...?" he wondered. As he continued to walk through the grounds, he came across a small building, in which he remembered it as something to store the sports equipment of the school. He stared at it for a short while, but before he could look back to where he was going to do back then, he found something odd about the small building.

"Wait a sec..." he said, as he looked at it again. He realized that there wasn't any lock on the doors, leaving it unlocked for anyone to goof around inside of it, if they ever learned about it. Out of curiosity, he walked towards the small building and opened the doors, wide enough for him to look around perfectly. Turns out that there wasn't anyone in there. Nothing happened, as the equipments were all in perfect shape. "... It's not usual for someone to leave it unlock, if they don't want anyone to cause trouble inside..." he said, as he beagn to walk inside of it. Each step made the usual thumping sound, nothing too odd about it, he thought. However, when he took a step in the center of the room, the sound changed, into a hollowed thump. He took notice of it and looked down at the wooden floor. "Hm?"

The sound was suspicious enough, as stepping against the floor doesn't usual make a hollowed thumping sound, unless there was a room underground. As he kneed down on the ground and leaned his ear on the wooden floor, he knocked on it a few times, to hear the same hollowed sound. "Is there... something under there?" he wondered. As his curiosity went high on his mind, he decided to check it out. He pulled some of the wooden planks off, showing an unknown hole. As he was able to take off most of them, he found himself looking at a large whole with a stairway made of stone. That was it. That must be something that will lead him to where the large Reiryoku is. "Hey, guys!" he called out the others to the back, hoping that his shout will echo throughout the small building. "I found a stairway over here!"

As expected, the two Shinigamis came t the small building, following Ichigo's voice. As they got inside, they were looking down at the stairway, along with Ichigo. "A stairway...? In a place such as this?" Rukia wondered.

"This looks suspicious... Looks like something that will definitely lead us to the Reiryoku. Someone must have hidden it here so that no one else could find it. But who...?" asked Renji.

Ichigo shrugged, as he continued to look down at the stairway with suspicions in his eyes. "I don't know... But we gotta let Shinji and the others know about this. Rukia, call him to meet up with us back in the school grounds." he said, as Rukia nodded and pulled out her cellphone from the top of her hakama, as she dialed up Shinji's number.

----------

"That was great! It's good to have some fun with you guys for once!" exclaimed Akane, happy to be able to chill out and let out all of her stress to have some fun, as the gang are now inside of Akane's apartment, where she insisted the others to have some tea together there.

It was some time earlier before the Shinigamis were continuing to search for the source of the Reiryoku, as the gang had finished up their shopping adventure inside of a mall, with lots of bags in their possession. They are now sitting under the small, triangular table, with Akane offering green tea for each of them.

Orihime stretched out her arms up in the air, as she happily sighed. "It's been a while since I have fun like this! It feels like forever!" she said.

"What can I say?" said Shinji, holding his cup of tea with a big smile. "Let's all let out all of our stress from our daily life and have some good time with one another through one way or another. We can't just skip that and wait for another day at work with all those stress! Let it all out, just like I said!" He then took a sip of his tea, before letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

Akane smiled and nodded, as she felt the same way. "It's really nice to hang out with friends every once in a while, won't you agree, Keita-kun?" she asked the brown-haired boy who was sitting next to her.

He snapped out from his empty stare at an unknown spot and looked at Akane in realization. "Oh. Um... Yeah, I guess so..."

Akane sighed, as the boy still didn't feel anything exciting when he was around them. He was always like that through the day, mostly, and he didn't try to say something interesting to talk about. But some day, he will... He will definitely feel it.

"So, um..." started Uryuu, as he was tyring to find something to ask the two people about. "... How long have you known each other?"

"Oh, well, we met each other when we were kids. I was ten at the time and Keita-kun was only seven. The two of us had a blast with each other." Akane said, smiling as she still remembered the fun past in their childhood. "Oh, but we also had a great time with Keita-kun's mom, Maki. She was a very nice woman..."

"That sounds great!" exclaimed Orihime, as she was feeling eager to see Keita's mom. "I really wanted to see her in person! How is she now?"

When Orihime asked that, Akane felt a little uneasy to reply that. "Oh, well... She... Um... It's kinda hard to say..." she said, trying to do her best not to darken the atmosphere.

However, Keita took the liberty to reply it. "... She died... in a car accident..." That answer gave Orihime a shocking gasp, with the other two boys to widen their eyes in surprise.

"Oh... She... She died?" repeated Orihime, feeling the guilt of asking such as question, when she realized that his mother died. "I... I apologize, Ibuki-kun... I... I didn't know that she died in an accident..."

"It's alright... I'm used to it, that's all..." said Keita. "It happened a long time ago, so it's no big deal..."

"Long time ago, huh...?" said Shinji, as he understood that Keita's mother's death had happened somewhere around his childhood. "... So you've been living alone after all this time?"

"Right now, yes..." replied Keita. "But when I was a kid, Akane-san took care of me in everything, until I'm old enough to take care of myself... Well, in most situations, at least."

"I see..." Shinji nodded in understand it. He then looked at Akane. "So you were trying to comfort him to move on from her death, and took the role of taking care of him, huh? Sounds like a tough job... But I can understand how it feels to lose a parent in an unfair accident..."

Akane slowly nodded, as her face was showing a hint of sadness, upon remembering what had happened during those kind of events. "Yeah... Me too..."

Everything went silent around the group, as they couldn't say anything to change the subject about the death of Keita's mother. They felt like if they would try to do it, they would maybe upset Keita. So they kept themselves quiet until the right moment comes, which will be who knows when.

"... Do any of you meet your doppelgangers?" asked Keita suddenly, which got the attention of the three people, excluding Akane.

"Doppelgangers?" asked Uryuu, wondering why he asked that.

"Oh! You mean people who have the same face as us, right?!" exclaimed Orihime, getting excited to talk about doppelgangers. "Well, I didn't see them, really. But when I do, I'll make friends with them and we'll do a lot of things together! It's like having a twin to hang out with! Being with a doppelganger sounds really great!"

"... Actually..." started Keita. "... I know that it sounds really surprising to meet a doppelganger... But..." He usually didn't want to talk about it with anyone, except for Akane, but if he wanted the others to be safe, he have to tell them. "... Before my mother's death... When she and I were walking back from a local store, in a rainy day... We came across someone... And that someone... had the same face as my mother..." The others gasped at what he said. He continued on with it. "And a few months later, after we saw her doppelganger... My mother died... in a car accident..."

"... Oh Ibuki-kun..." said Orihime, feeling sorry for the young boy.

"But wait a minute. You're saying that you two met her doppelganger before she died, right?" said Uryuu, who was beginning to recollect the pieces of information coming from him. "So you're saying that seeing her doppelganger... resulted in her death." Keita nodded. "But that was just a coincidence. It can't be connected somehow..."

"At first, that was it. I thought that it was a coincidence too..." said Keita. "But this year... I actually heard the same incident resulting in the same accident, just like before..."

"What...?" Uryuu widened his eyes in surprise.

"A friend of mine... Yamada Risa... The last thing that I heard from her is that she believed that there are actually three of them with the same face... I warned her to look out for any accident that might occurred in any time... However, the next day... In the news... She died in an accident as well..."

"The same way... as your mother?"

"And then... Not long ago... There was this young girl... A girl so young that she had many years to experience her life..."

Shinji widened his eyes, when Keita was talking about a very young girl. "What...? Even her...?"

When Akane looked at Keita, she could see that he was balling his hands into fists, as he was beginning to feel the same shocking feeling at that very moment... "Keita-kun, it's alright. You can stop, if you don't want to experience the past again..." she tried to make him stop from hurting himself again on the inside.

However, he continued on anyway, risking his heart to feel the shocking pain. "I met up with her on a sidewalk, waiting for the moment for us to walk through the road... She told me that she met someone who has the same face as her... And when the walk sign was blinking up... And when she walked to the road... She... She...!" Keita couldn't continue on, as he looked down and gritted his teeth at the feeling of seeing someone such as her to meet the same fate as the other two...

Shinji placed his hand over his right eye, understanding the feeling of seeing someone as young as her being killed in an accident... "... Even a young girl such as her... How terrible..." The others felt the same way, as they were facing down, feeling the sadness of each of their deaths. "So you're saying that... In each of those deaths... They met their doppelganger before?"

Keita nodded through his gritted teeth. "Yes... But why does it have to be this way...? Why did they have to die through the same way...? And why am I the only one who suffered so much through those deaths...?"

Akane looked at Keita with sadness in her eyes. She only experienced one death, and Keita was the only one who suffered through all of those deaths. She couldn't help, but feel his pain through it all. "Keita-kun..."

"So... In any case..." Shinji started to say, as he looked up to Keita, removing his hand from his face. "... You want us to be careful not to see our doppelgangers, huh?"

Keita nodded. "... That's right..." he said, as he began to calm himself down, his teeth no longer gritting against each other. "... I don't want any of you to die, just because you saw your doppelgangers... I don't want anyone to die through that process..."

"... So that's the reason why you rejected having friends." said Shinji. "You're scared that you'll be too close to them and that they will die soon, right?"

Keita once again nodded. "Yeah... I'm sorry for rejecting being your friend before, Shinji-san..."

"It's alright. I understand. You were trying to protect them so they won't go through the same thing like the others. That's something that you must do to not letting the others experiencing the same process all over again."

Keita looked up to the new student. "... So... You'll be careful?"

Shinji nodded, as well as the others. "Don't worry. We won't be the same as with the others. And we have less of a chance to see our doppelgangers, so no worries. Even when we're friends, it doesn't mean that we'll die soon. Alright, Ibuki-san?"

Keita stared at the others, who are all smiling, as they were sure to not let themselves go through the process of dying, just by seeing their doppelgangers. He gently smiled and nodded. "Alright... I believe in you guys." he said. Akane smiled gently at the change of feeling that Keita had, by hearing the trusting words of the others, as the atmosphere became lighted once more.

Suddenly, the sound of a ringing bell was heard. However, to both Keita and Akane, it wasn't the sound of the phone in the apartment. Shinji realized that it was his cellphone that was ringing, so he pulled it out with his hand opened it up, anwering the call. "Hello, this is Hirako Shinji?"

_"It's me." _In his ear, it was Rukia's voice from the phone.

Knowing that it must be something important, he looked at the others. "Please excuse me. I'll have to speak on the phone somewhere else." he said, a she stood up from the small table and went to the kitchen, which was close to them. As he got in, he was speaking on the phone once more. "What is it, Kuchiki-san?"

_"We found a stairway that might lead us to the source of the Reiryoku, but we're not sure about it too much. We are hoping that you and the others meet up with us over here to check it out. What do you say?"_

Shinji smiled, as he nodded. "Alright. Good job, Kuchiki-san. The others and I will meet up with you guys as soon as possible. Don't get too ahead of us, alright?"

_"Understood. We'll see you later." _With that, the call ended.

Shinji closed his cellphone, as he went back to the others. "Sorry, you two. But my friends and I got business to take care of." he said.

"We are?" asked Orihime, a little confused, as she tilted her head.

"Yeah. We're meeting some friends over there, since they got something interesting to show to us. So, we gotta go. Isn't that right, you guys?"

Uryuu quickly understood what Shinji was talking about, as he nodded. "Yeah, of course. Sorry, Ibuki-san, Sano-san. But it's really urgent and we have got to meet up with them fast." he said, as he stood up from the table.

Orihime was still confused as to why the two said that, but after a while, she realized what they were talking about. "Oh! That's right!" she said, as she stood up from the table as well. She then bowed to the two friends. "Thank you for the tea, Akane-san! It was really great! And it is also great to have met you two!"

"Oh, um... It's not a problem, Inoue-san. You're welcome to visit us anytime you like." said Akane, smiling, even though she still didn't have any clue what the others are going to do. Keita, however, looked like as if he was beginning to get suspicious at what the three are going to do.

"Well! Let's get going, you two!" said Shinji, as the three people went to the front door, not until the Vizard looked back at the two friends. "Nice meeting you two! Until we meet again!" he said with a smile, as he got out of the apartment, with Uryuu and Orihime following the same pattern as him.

"Bye, you two! Come visit us again!" said Akane, as she waved goodbye to her friends.

Keita didn't say anything. But he was still looking rather suspicious with the others. They didn't say anything specific of what they were going to do. He would just let it go, but they seemed to be in a hurry and that they don't want them to know about it. He wondered why...

----------

Certain time has passed. The three Shinigamis were waiting outside of the small building, for the three others to come over there to check out what they have found. Once they were able to find where the source of the Reiryoku is, they will put an end to the phenomenon that's been happening in the world. But that was only one thing. They weren't sure if that large Reiryoku would do to stop it. There might be others... But they have high hopes in stopping it.

As the three Shinigamis continued to wait, they all heard the voice of a certain Vizard. "Hey, over here!" They all looked to see the Vizards and the two others running towards them, before they came to a stop when they are close.

"Hey, right on time, you guys." said Ichigo.

Shinji looked at the inside of the storage room, wondering if that was the place that they found. "So this is it, right?"

Rukia nodded. "Yes. We only found one stairway that will lead us to a hidden room, where the source of the large Reiryoku might be. Can you tell that it is in there?"

Shinji began to concentrate his sight in the room. As he was concentrating, he could feel a large atmosphere of Reiryoku coming out of the stairway. He nodded. "Yep. Looks like this is it. Good work, you guys."

"So what are we waiting for?" said Renji, feeling a little impatient to end that up as soon as possible. "Let's end this so we can rest peacefully without getting worried some more!"

"Renji's right. We wasted some time out of our hands, and we have found it after a long time. So we have to finish this up quick before anyone can get hurt."

"Alright." said Shinji, as he began to walk into the room. "Let's get this over with. But be careful. We still don't know what will come once we're going in. So be prepared, or else, you'll die recklessly." Even though that his back was facing the others, he could tell that they all nodded in agreement. "Let's get going, everyone."

And with that said, the group entered the room and went down to the stairway, in high hopes that they will be able to bring an end to the phenomenon before it could cause any trouble for everyone in their home. Just one step closer and it'll be all over.

However, unknown to the group, there were two figures who had followed them out of curiosity. And they found them just as they entered the small building...

----------

The group found themselves walking down on each of the staircases, as all of them are leading them down to where the Reiryoku was supposed to be. They are one step closer into reaching it, and once they are done with it, everything will be alright. And the atmosphere will return back to normal, as they speak. As they continued to go down for a while, they realized how long the stairs are. And it seemed like they are walking down around and around. Either it was supposed to have the room deeper away from the surface, or to annoy the others into wasting their time walking down from the stairs.

Eventually, as they continued to walk down, they could see a bright light coming from deeper into the stairway. Ichigo widened his eyes, upon seeing it. "We're close!" he stated the obvious to everyone, who all nodded in response. They continued to walk down deeper into the stairway, until they eventually reached the end of it, entering a large room. As they entered it, everyone all had a gasp of surprise.

It was a large room made of stone, with a small altar in the center of it. And above it was a large and bright sphere, which was hovering from above the altar. That was it. That must be the large Reiryoku that Shinji sensed and searched for.

"This is it... This is where the stairs led us to." said Rukia.

"So this big thing is the one causing big trouble in this world, huh?" Renji said, as he moved his right fist to his left hand, as it began to crack the fingers of the fist to relieve it from being cripple. "Once we're done with this crap, everything will be all done. And this world won't be in danger anymore."

"... Wait a minute..." said Shinji, as he got the others' attention. He began to walk forward towards the large sphere slowly, before stopping himself from going forward, but still a little far away from it. "... Something is not right..."

"What do you mean?" asked Orihime.

"... It is true that this is where the others and I sensed the large Reiryoku coming from here... But... It's nature... It's..." He trailed out, as he gritted his teeth a little. "Damn it... It's not connected with the dark energy from outside!"

"Wait... What?!" exclaimed Renji, after hearing what Shinji concluded in it.

"It's not the same...! It's nature is different than the energy from outside...! It's not the one who caused this phenomenon...!"

"Then... We went through all of this for nothing...?" asked Ichigo, who couldn't believe what he heard from the Vizard.

Shinji sighed. "Afraid so..." he said. "... It looks like that phenomenon is even a bigger cause for all of us... And we went through all this trouble for nothing..."

Renji growled in frustration, as he slammed his fist against a nearby wall. "Grr...! Damn it! We wasted our time just for this useless energy sphere?! What's the purpose of having this one hidden deep underground?!"

The others agreed to what Renji said about that. Having an energy sphere with a large Reiryoku had no purpose in all of that. But still, they were still wondering what it really does, and how it was different than the energy from outside. But nevertheless, they all wasted their time searching for an energy sphere that is different than the phenomenon that they are facing.

"What the...? Shinji-san, what is all of this?!" Suddenly, they all heard someone speaking to Shinji from behind. As they all looked back to the doorway to the stairs, Shinji widened his eyes, as well as Ishida and Orihime, as she gasped out of surprise and shock.

Standing through the doorway was Keita and Akane, who seemed to have followed the others for some reason. "What the...?! Ibuki-san?!" exclaimed Shinji.

"Akane-san...?!" said Orihime, shocked to see their friends inside of the very room.

"What is this...? And how did you guys managed to find that kind of place?!" said Keita, who seemed too concern about all of that. At the sight of the large room with the large energy sphere, he seemed to be demanding a logical explanation from Shinji.

"Keita-kun...? What is this place...?" askd Akane, as she looked around the room with fear in her eyes. They were then laid into the group in front of her. "And why are Shinji's other friends wearing black hakamas...?"

Everyone were shocked, as some of them widened their eyes in shock, while some gasped out of the same matter. "What...? Her too...? She can see Shinigamis too...?!" said Shinji, who couldn't believe that another person can see spirits such as Shinigamis.

"Shinji, what is this?! Why were you hiding this fact from us?! I demand an explanation!" exclaimed Keita, as he was beginning to feel kinda angry at Shinji and the others keeping a sort of secret from them.

Shinji wanted to try and explain the safe way to them, but seeing them here, in this very room... How could he keep himself calm with them around, when there was something that could be dangerous, even though it didn't look like it much. "Ibuki-san, why are you two here?! This place is too dangerous for normal humans like you! I want you two to get out of here, before something bad is about to happen!"

"I'm not going, until you give me an explanation for all of this, Shinji!" yelled out Keita. "And what's with the normal human talk?! What are you trying to say?!"

Shinji groaned out of frustration. He didn't want Keita and Akane to be involve in all of that, and he didn't want them to be hurt, after learning about it. "Looks, it's hard to explain it, but you two have to...!" he trailed off, as he was unable to say anything good to make them understand that staying there is too dangerous.

"Hey." Ichigo suddenly said, as he stepped in to speak up to the two instead of Shinji. "I don't know how you two are able to see us, but you gotta get out of here. Normal humans like you won't be able to expect anything dangerous inside of the room, whatever it is."

"You... You're that orange-haired guy from before..." said Keita, upon remembering Ichigo from two occasions. But he ignored it and continued to fight on for some explanation. "Look, I don't understand what's going on, but until you guys explain to us what is going on here, I won't go! And cut with the normal humans crap! We're all humans around here!"

Ichigo shook his head. "That's not true... Out of all of us, some guys, including me, aren't exactly humans... I know that you won't believe it, but we're Shinigamis."

Keita widened his eyes in shock, as Akane gasped out of shock as well. "Wait... Sh... Sh... Shinigamis...?!" stuttered Akane, unable to cope out that Ichigo and some of the others are Shinigamis.

Keita, however, didn't believe it one bit. "Are you joking? Shinigamis? Those such things don't exist here! Stop talking nonsense and make sense, damn it! I'm getting a lot annoyed right now, if you don't explain it to me!"

"If you don't believe me, then tell me..." said Ichigo. "... When I knocked on the window outside of the classroom, do you even heard anyone talking about how I got there?" Keita was about to protest some more, but when he began to think about it, he halted himself from speaking any more of this.

"... Wait... No one ever talked about you when you did that... They all thought that someone threw a rock at the window... I didn't understand why they thought about that, when it was you who knocked on the window... Then that means that you're...?" Keita trailed off, as realization got to him. He slowly backed away from the group, as Akane looked at him doing that. "... No way...! How can someone like you guys ever existed...? I thought it was some sort of a myth...!"

"It's hard to believe, I know." said Ichigo, as he nodded at Keita's disbelief of Shinigamis being in this world. "But we can't explain to you any further. You and that girl have to get out of here, before you get hurt!"

Keita became speechless, after learning about something that is unbelievable. His mind went on about how a supernatural being still existed in this world. He remained immobilized, as many thoughts came in mind, and none of them helped him out to move again. Akane placed her hands on one of shoulders, and tugged on it, as she was beginning to get more scared, as long as they are still in there. "Keita-kun... Maybe they're right... It is too dangerous for us to stay here. We have to get out of here, before..."

"Just... Just what are we doing here...?" Keita started to speak, his eyes still widened in shock and disbelief. He stared at the group, unable to believe what was happening. The secret stairway, the large energy sphere inside of a large room with an altar, Shinji being in the league with Shinigamis... "... I don't understand it...! Shinigamis here in this world...?! What is going on around here?! What kind of world is this?!"

"... You are all in a world that merges with the others." Suddenly, everyone heard someone coming from the back of the energy sphere, as Ichigo and the others looked back to see who it is, while both Keita and Akane looked in front of them.

From behind the sphere, a person came walking to the right of it, revealing himself to the group. It was a tall man with silver, straight-up spiky hair and a pair of purple eyes. What he was wearing is a white, sleeveless chinese top and a pair of black gym pants, with a pair of black shoes. He looked at the group with menacing eyes. "Yes... Your world and the world of the Shinigami has been merged together with the others."

"What the...? Who in hell's name are you?!" exclaimed Renji, as he was alerted at the sight of that man.

"Is it really necessary to tell you my name? I deemed it to be a waste of time, since you are all going to spend your last day together..."

Rukia widened her eyes in shock. "Last day...? You mean, you're going to kill us!?"

"Kill... Such a harsh word to describe it. I was thinking more of... putting you into eternal sleep, where you will never wake up ever again."

After hearing what the silver, spiky hair man said, Uryuu got alerted, as well as the others except for the two normal humans. "Kurosaki!" he said.

Ichigo nodded. "I know." he said, as he moved his hand up to the bandaged handle of his Zanpakuto and moved it in front of him, giving Akane a slight gasp at the sight of his large Zanpakuto. "I'm not gonna waste my time trying to know my enemy's name, when he's avoiding it! Who the hell are you?!"

The silver-haired man sighed. "I hate making you guys annoyed... Very well. I'll make you remember my name just for the rest of your time together." he said. "My name is Taishi Yang. And if you do not know yet, I am being sent here to find one of the heroes of the prophecy... Meaning you, Kurosaki Ichigo." As he said that, he looked at Ichigo, who slightly gasped as he remembered his name.

"What the...? Man, what's up with people going after me all of the sudden?! Why did that guy who sent you want me killed?!"

Taishi sighed, as he shook his head. "Why wasting my time explaining it to you, when you and your friends are going to die? I already know that all of you are inferior against me... With the exception of the blond boy." he said, as he looked at Shinji. "You are rather strong and worthy enough to face me... But my purpose is to put and end to Kurosaki Ichigo."

"... So I thought." Shinji said, as he pulled out his hand in front of him, as something quickly appeared in his hand. His Zanpakuto.

The sight of it appearing in his hand made both Keita and Akane gasped out of surprise. "What the...?" said Keita.

"And how would you know that I'm stronger than the others? We looked no different from strength in our view."

Taishi smirked. "Well... It is because that I can see your aura coming out of all of you."

Shinji widened his eyes in surprise. "Aura...?"

Taishi nodded. "That's right. My eyes... are special." he said. In the view of the Chinese man, he could see different auras coming out of everyone. Shinji's aura, in his view, is orange, indicating that he is strong. And looking at Ichigo, his aura is white, meaning that he is one of the heroes of the prophecy, as all of the heroes have the aura. As with everyone else, there are all blue. "I can already tell that you are strong, and that Ichigo is definitely the hero of the prophecy. My eyes never failed me. And they never tell me that anyone is stronger than me."

"What...?!" Shinji groaned, as what Taishi said meant that Shinji isn't exactly strong enough against him. "You're calling me weak...?"

"I would like to put it as... inferior against me." Taishi said, as he chuckled slightly. As he continued to look around the group, he saw something quite unusual within them. "... What?" he said, as he looked at Keita. His aura... is the same as Ichigo. All white. His aura is different than Akane's, which is blue, just like the others. "... That's strange... How come this boy over here has the same aura as Ichigo?" he said, as he led everyone's attention towards Keita, who seemed to be surprised that they are looking at him.

"What...? The same aura as Ichigo?" said Shinji, as he looked at Keita with surprise in his eyes.

Keita looked around at everyone, who are looking at him, and he was feeling kinda uneasy to have them look at him strangely. "Wh... What are you guys looking at me for...?"

"Hm... That's strange indeed..." said Taishi, as he examined the boy with his eyes. "He's not one of the heroes of the prophecy, and yet, his aura is the same color as Ichigo's... Unless, of course, he's one of the heroes who aren't exactly found by the Eclipsian..."

After a while of looking at Keita, Ichigo snapped out of it and looked back at the Chinese man. "Ok, cut the crap! You're here to kill me, right? Then come and get me, you bastard!" yelled Ichigo, as he got into his fighting position. His friends all looked back at the enemy, as they got into their stance as well.

"Ibuki-kun! Akane-san! I know that everything seemed complicated, but you have to get out of here! It's too dangerous to stay here with him around!" said Orihime, as she was prepared to fight against the enemy.

Keita and Akane looked at the others, as they saw that everyone are getting ready to fight. Realizing that it was going to get a little messy, Akane decided to accept their words, as she grabbed hold of Keita's shoulder, who looked back at her to know what she was doing. "Keita-kun! It's not safe to stay here! We have to go!"

Keita stared at his childhood friend for a while, until he nodded, as he agreed. "Alright... Let's get going!" he said. But first, he looked back at the prepared group one last time, before he began to run up through the stairs, along with Akane.

Seeing Keita and Akane leaving the room, Taishi sighed. "If that child really is one of the heroes of the prophecy... Then my lord won't be happy that I let him escape, so I can take care of Kurosaki Ichigo." he said. However, with a shrug, he smirked. "Then I guess this place isn't going to be our battlefield."

"What...?! What do you mean...?!" asked Ichigo, alerted at what the Chinese man was about to do.

"How about we take the battle... back in the surface?!" As he said that, he quickly moved his hand in front of the group and, suddenly, a very powerful gust of wind had occured on the group, as they were being pushed by the large wind.

"What...?! What is he...?!" said Rukia, as she struggled to stand still from the ground, as well as the others. However, even with much effort coming from all of them, they were suddenly being pushed off from where they stood, as they were sent flying through the doorway to the stairs.

As Keita and Akane were running up through the stairs with everything they had, they were suddenly being pushed off from the staircases and being taken up all of the sudden, as they yelled out of fear. Ichigo and the others were not far behind them, as they followed them through the large gust of wind. Then, suddenly, they were all being pushed out of the small buildin, as they crashed into the ground, escaping the gust of wind before it could lead them further away. Everyone all groaned from the impact of the ground. "Damn it...! What the hell was that...?!" said Ichigo, as he slowly stood up from the ground with some effort, as the others did the same as well, except for Keita and Akane.

Then, suddenly, someone got through the roof of the small building, in a quick speed. Then, when he was high up in the air, he quickly got himself down and landed on the ground hard, kneeling on one knee, before he stood up from the ground. Taishi was looking at the group with a smirk on his face, and a sinister look in his eyes. "Are you ready to battle?"

At the sound of it, Ichigo quickly got into his fighting stance, as well as Shinji, Rukia and Renji. Orihime stood in front of the two downed friends, as Uryuu joined up with them. "I'll protect you guys! Don't you worry!" she said.

"Orihime-san...!" said Keita, as he was trying to get up from the ground, along with Akane.

Taishi continued to show off his smirk and his devilish eyes, as he extended out his right arm to the side. "My lord wants me to kill you with all of my strength. So I will use everything I have to kill you all..." he said, as a sudden spark of lightning appeared into his hand, as something began to take form in it. It took the form of a spear, in which the blade is larger in length and that it is separated in three, with the middle being the longest out of the three of them.

Ichigo growled softly, as the battle was about to start between them and the Chinese man. "I don't know what this is all about, trying to kill me for some reason, but I won't let you kill me or any of my friends!"

Taishi chuckled a little, as he looked at Ichigo.

"Heroes like you... deserve to die."

**End of chapter**

Hey, guys. It's me again, with a new chapter... Well, looks like I'm done. I thought that I will make it longer, but it looks like it's long enough now. And yet... When I wrote it... It seemed kinda off again. Like, my ideas has been slipped halfway... Oh man, maybe I took my time into this too much... Gotta rest... I hope.

Anyways, I'm still waiting for you guys to choose which mangas or animes do you want me to add in the story. Remember. More mangas means more fun to the story... At least, if it's not too out of place.

Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	11. Chapter 10: Escaping from Tokyo

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashback_

**Zanpakuto/Technique**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes.

**Chapter 10:**

**Escaping from Tokyo**

"Heroes like you... deserve to die." said the spiky hair Chinese man, as he placed the bottom of his spear down to the ground, smirking at the group, who are ready to face him in battle, even though that they are certainly no match against him.

Here they are, standing in the school grounds outside of the small building where sports equipment were stored in, as well as where a hidden stairway to a secret room was. It was the time of the dusk to come, even through it couldn't be seen through the blood red sky. With that, the battle has begun, as Ichigo charged at Taishi with his Zanpakuto ready to strike. As he was close to him, Ichigo quickly swung it down vertically. However, Taishi quickly blocked the attack with his spear, his hands placing in each of the area from where the strike was blown.

"Damn it...!" Ichigo cursed, as he pulled his Zanpakuto off from his enemy's weapon and swung it in a different direction. Taishi blocked it easily as well in the same way. Then, the orange-haired Shinigami then made three consecutive slashes at his enemy, in which he blocked them all. Finally, Ichigo quickly swung it horizontally, in which Taishi jumped off the ground to avoid it, as well as backing away, as he landed on the roof of the small building.

With a smirk, he lifted his spear up in the air, as energy was beginning to gather around the blade. "**Sonic Wave!**" he shouted, as he swung his spear horizontally at the ground, creating a large and sharp wave at them.

They all noticed the attack and the attacking group jumped off from it, while Orihime stood guard in front of the powerless one, as she used a technique. "**Santen Kesshun!**" she shouted, as a large, triangular barrier appeared in front of them. At the impact against the attack, Orihime suddenly got pushed off, falling on Keita, as he was just about to get up.

"Inoue-san!" said Uryuu, as he kneed down to see if Orihime was alright. Luckily, she got off from the ground, letting off a small groan. "What happened?"

"I... I don't know... But his attack is really strong...!" said Orihime, as she looked up at the enemy with eyes widened in shock.

As Keita got up from the ground after Orihime's fall, along with Akane, the both of them were obviously shocked to see what just happened. "What in the world...? How can they...?" Keita trailed off.

When the attacking group jumped off in a different direction, Renji, with his Zanpakuto already drawn from the sheath, placed his hand on the bottom of the blade, before shouting out a command. "**Howl, Zabimaru!**" By moving his hand up to the top, his Zanpakuto transformed once more. "Take this!" he yelled at the enemy, as he swung his Zanpakuto horizontally towards him, as it was extended into a whip, just like before. Taishi dodged the attack, as he jumped off from the roof. "Not a chance!" Renji yelled once more, as he moved his Zanpakuto to another direction, towards Taishi.

The Chinese man didn't expect that, as he looked down to see the blade coming in his way. "What...?!" he said, before the back of the blade got him and he was being pulled down, separating himself from it as he was falling down. With no time to react, Shinji suddenly appeared below of him, and just as he was at the perfect height in Shinji's view, he kicked the Chinese man with a side kick, as he was being shot away. As he was close to the ground, he regained his balance and landed on the ground, before making a large slide on it. He smirked in satisfaction. "So you're not that easy to deal with." he said, as he was already prepared for what was in store for him next.

"**Getsuga Tenshou!**" He heard Ichigo's voice shouting to his right, as he looked there to see a large vertical wave coming at him at full speed. Taishi quickly moved himself at the attack, as he moved his spear in from of him, before a large impact occurred between the attack and the weapon. The strength of the technique was so strong that Taishi was sliding back a few feet away, before he stood his ground against it. With enough strength against it, he swung his spear off, as the large wave dissipated from the battle. Ichigo, as he saw it, wasn't expecting much from someone like him, as he growled softly. "Just like that other guy...!"

"**Getsuga Tenshou**... Interesting attack, Kurosaki Ichigo." said Taishi, as he smirked at the Substitute Shinigami. "But I wonder... Since this is such an interesting attack... How about I make it mine?" As he said that, his spear suddenly glowed, making Ichigo gasp of surprise upon seeing it. He raised his spear up in the air, and he quickly slammed it to the ground, creating the very same energy wave at Ichigo. "**Counter: Getsuga Tenshou!**"

Ichigo widened his eyes in shock, upon seeing the very same attack that he had made against him. "What?!" He had no time to try and find out how Taishi was able to use that very technique, as he quickly dodged out of the attack range. As he landed on the ground, Ichigo looked back at Taishi with shocking eyes. "But how...?! How can you use **Getsuga Tenshou **too?!"

Taishi smirked at Ichigo's surprise. "My spear is special. It can copy any techniques that it guarded against and use it against my enemies. But that's not the only thing that it is special about. My spear has a very gifted surprise, that you and the others will find out soon enough, before you all go into eternal sleep."

"Well, if you want to show them to us, then start by concentrating on the battle, dumbass!" He heard Renji's voice screaming out at him. Just as he turned around to look at the redhead, he saw the blade whip swinging down towards him. He quickly moved his spear up against it, as it blocked the attack. However, Renji lifted his Zanpakuto off from the spear, as he began to swing it at him in another direction. The Chinese man was able to block it once more. Then, Renji made a last swing at the enemy in the opposite direction, in which it was blocked once more by his spear. However, he planned it. "Rukia!" he shouted out to his comrade.

"Right!" said Rukia, as her voice came from behind Taishi. As he quickly turned around to face her, his sight was set on her swinging her Zanpakuto horizontally at him. He quickly moved to the side to dodge the attack, but her Zanpakuto managed to make a small scratch to the side of his shirt. Rukia quickly turned to face him once more, as she made a series of consecutive attacks, making the enemy backing away to avoid them, until he moved his spear up in front of him and blocked the next attack. She smirked, as they were locked into a power struggle. "Looks like you're weaker than your other ally who came after us before."

Taishi, strangely, smirked back. "Even though that I'm not as strong as Carlos, I have many things up in my sleeve... Like this, for example!" Suddenly, his eyes were turning from purple to pale blue, as a large earth wall appeared between the two, separating their power struggle.

Rukia took a step back, upon having her struggle being separated by the wall of earth that appeared between them. "What?!" she exclaimed, as she looked up to the wall. Suddenly, she quickly noticed that something was coming out from the wall, as a needle made of earth was thrust at her. She dodged it as soon as she saw it, but another one came at her through the same earth wall. She dodged that one as well. Then, a series of earth needles came thrusting at her one by one, in which she dodged them all, until she realized that she is stuck between the needles. "Crap...! I'm trapped...?!" she said. Then, another needle came thrusting straight at her head. She quickly noticed it and tilted her head to the side quickly, as the needle only managed to nick the side of her face. "Damn it...!"

Before she knew what was coming next, the earth wall suddenly got borke apart, along with the needles, as the Chinese man was moving straight at her, before performing a right knee attack to her face. This time, she got hit on the face, as her head was moving back by the impact of the knee. Then, Taishi moved to the right side, as he quickly performed a circular kick to the head, sending her flying to the side, crashing onto the ground. "Rukia!" Renji yelled out, as he saw his friend being flying to the ground. Looking at Taishi, he let out a battle cry, as he charged at the enemy. Along with him is Ichigo, who decided to charge with his ally.

As Taishi landed on the ground, he quickly slammed the bottom of his spear to the ground. "**Extend!**" he yelled out, before moving the bototm of his weapon in place to attack and swung it horizontally at his enemies, as it suddenly extended in a longer reach and got the two in its swing, as they let out a groan upon getting themselves being pulled by it. Taishi stopped the swing of his spear, as Renji and Ichigo were sent flying to the side, before hitting the ground together. He then moved his extended spear up in the air and slammed the bottom of it once more at the two downed Shinigamis, as the attack hit them and they both let out a painful groan. He then switched the position of his spear, making the blade the one to attack his enemies. "You should have expected it! Now, I must end your life!" he shouted, as he was about to sing his spear down at his enemies, with the blade this time.

However, he stopped just before he was about to do that, as he felt a presence from above. He looked up to see Shinji diving down towards him, with his blade pointing at him. Before the blade could reach him, Taishi quickly moved to the side, as Shinji only struck the ground. As he was beginning to stand up and continue to fight, Taishi quickly swung his longer spear at the Vizard. However, at the moment where it was about to touch him, Shinji disappeared. "Huh?" Taishi looked around to see if he was still around. However, when he looked at the direction of where his longer spear was, he saw Shinji running up to him, on the weapon. Before he could have time to react, Shinji quickly kicked him to the face, sending him flying a few feet away, letting go of his weapon, as it regained its normal length.

As Shinji landed on the ground, he charged at his downed opponent with his Zanpakuto ready to strike him down. Taishi quickly sat up from the ground, and when he saw the Vizard running up to him once more, he moved his hands up in front of him, as they began to glow in a purple aura. He thrust one of his hands at the Vizard, shooting out a stream of lightning bolt at him. Shinji quickly deflected the lightning bolt with his Zanpakuto, continuing to run at him closer and closer. Taishi continued to shoot out more lightning bolts from each of his hands, which were all deflected by the Zanpakuto. And when Shinji was able to reach him and attempted to slash him, Taishi, quickly jumped off from the ground, avoiding the attack, before landing on the ground far away from the Vizard.

Taishi smirked. "Interesting... You are a lot faster than the others, my friend." he said to the Vizard.

Shinji responded with a smirk, as well as a sentence. "And I can see that you really have a lot of things up in your sleeve... But that won't help you for long!" he said, as he charged at Taishi. The Chinese man quickly reached out his hand towards his spear, which was lying on the ground. It suddenly moved towards it by an unknown force, as he was able to grasp onto it and prepared himself to fight against the Vizard once more.

However, just as Shinji was a lot closer to his enemy, he suddenly disappeared from Taishi's sight. "What?" Before he could look around for him, Shinji quickly appeared behind him, without him noticing his presence, and slashed his back, making him yell out of pain, as he moved forward from the Vizard. He turned around to face him, as his face showed him smiling at him, in a mixture of satisfaction and pain. "Interesting...! You are quite good, my friend...!"

Shinji smirked at his injured opponent. However, that smirk was turning into a frown, as he found something odd about him. "Wait a minute..." he whispered. However, before he could put some thought into it, Taishi quickly thrust his spear at him, as he dodged it by moving to the side. Then, the silver-haired man began to use a series of swings, making Shinji blocking them each and everytime.

Out of the battle, Keita and Akane were looking at it with their eyes widened in shock once again. It was something that they have never seen before until now. And watching it... scared them through the sight of an unusual power and strength. "... This... This can't be...! This isn't real...! I must be dreaming...!" said Keita, as he was unable to cope out into believing what he saw in his eyes.

Uryuu, who was standing next to him, placed his hand on the student's shoulder. "I know that it seems unrealistic... But this is really the reality. Everything you two see is real..." he said, trying to make them believe it.

"Everything...?! Even the battle...?!" said Akane, who was no different as with Keita. Just watching the battle made her scared, because of an unbelievable amount of power that rested into it. She feared that they might die, if they are somehow involved in it. To get herself to calm down from it, she placed her hands to Keita's arm at his side and rested her head on his shoulder. "Keita-kun...! I'm scared...!" she whimpered. Keita had nothing to say, as he continued to watch the unbelievable battle.

"Don't worry, you two. I won't let any of you get hurt." said Orihime, her back still facing the defenceless group. "As long as I'm here, you won't be harmed by the battle. My friends will bring that guy down as soon as possible... At least, I hope so..." Her eyes were staring at the battle, as she was hoping for the others to be able to stop Taishi. Who knows how long it will be... And who will be the victor.

While the series of swings and blocks still occurred, Rukia slowly got herself up from the ground, after being hit on the head by Taishi's swinging kick. As she looked at the two people battling each other, she could see how small of a chance Shinji's counterattack will do. She wanted to help him out, somehow... Then, she had an idea that ight work into defeating the enemy. "It's been a while since I've used it..." she said, as she moved her blade in front of her. "**Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!**" she called out the command, as she turned her Zanpakuto around, as it turned white all over its form. The tsuba becomes a hollow snowflake-like circle and a white ribbon forms from the pommel from the end of the handle. At the appearance of the transformed Zanpakuto, the atmosphere became colder than before, as a fog with the same nature was descended into the area.

While Taishi was continuing to attack Shinji with his multiple swings, he stopped suddenly, as he took notice of the change of the atmosphere, as well as the fog that suddenly enveloped the area. "What...?" he said, as he looked around to see what caused that change. He then saw Rukia standing up, with her Zanpakuto in a different form. "Is she the one who caused this...?"

"Concentrate on the battle, idiot!" Shinji shouted, as he performed a side kick to the face, sending him flying away from him.

As Rukia was finished transforming her Zanpakuto, she looked around to the others. With Shinji still fighting against his opponent, and Ichigo and Renji seemed to have beginning to stand up from the ground where they were being pummeled into, she called out the others. "Everyone! Listen to me!" Her allies were all looking at him. "Get Taishi over to me so I can use one of my techniques to finish him off once and for all!"

Shinji continued to stare at the young Shinigami when she told them that, then he nodded in confirmation. "Alright. Leave it to us!" he said to her.

"... You think I'd let you do that?!" Suddenly, before anyone knew, Taishi was already standing up from the ground, as he charged at Rukia with his spear being pulled back, as he thrust it to create a sharp and invisible blast towards her. "**Sonic Bullet!**"

Rukia gasped, as she saw the invisible blast shooting out towards her, as she had no time to move out of the way of the fast attack. However, just in time, Ichigo quickly stood in the way of the attack and, with his Zanpakuto placing in front of him, blocked the attack with as much strength that is necessary to rival it. "I don't think so!" he shouted, as he charged at the charging enemy, with his Zanpakuto ready to make a slash. As he swung it towards Taishi, the enemy quickly jumped off from it, as he was jumping high at Rukia.

However, before he could have a chance to attack her, he saw a blade whip being thrown at him, as he quickly moved his spear in front of him to block it, resulting in him being thrown out to the opposite direction. "Not so fast, spiky!" said Renji, as his Zanpakuto returned into its normal length. He then charged Taishi, when he crashed back down to the ground, along with Ichigo, as they are going to follow Rukia's plan.

Taishi quickly stood up from the ground, as he looked at the two Shinigamis running at him. "Don't get careless..." he said, as he raised his hand up in the air, as it glowed in the same purple aura as before. "**Wave of Lightning!**" He shouted, as five lightning bolts came crashing in front of him side by side, as they all moved towards the charging Shinigamis in a quick speed. The two of them notice the attack, even with that speed, as they both dodged out of the way in each side.

While the technique was called out, Taishi's focus was solely on those who are going to attack him. However, he didn't notice the presence of Shinji, who appeared behind him once more. "Focus on everything else around you, or else..." said Shinji, which made Taishi taking weary of his presence, as he quickly turned around. However, Shinji already threw his fist up at his chest, as he was sent flying up in the air. "Ichigo! He's yours!" he shouted to the orange-haired Shinigami.

"Right!" Ichigo nodded, and at the moment where he land on the ground after his dodge, he quickly jumped towards his enemy, who is still helpless in the air for the moment. "Have a taste of this!" he shouted, as he kicked Taishi as hard as he could, so that he was sent towards Rukia.

At the sight of that, Rukia smiled, as she was prepared to use her technique, once he is closer to her. "It's over for you!" she shouted, before calling out the name of her technique. "**Some no mai, Tsukishiro!**" She then performed a slashing motion with her Zanpakuto, as the blade glowed bright. Then, a large, white circle enveloped the ground around her.

When Taishi was right above her, he looked down to see the white circle taking place around her. He widened his eyes in shock, not knowing what will happen soon. "What is...?!" he started to say, but he couldn't finish it up, as the white circle suddenly burst out white energy up in the air, circling Taishi and anything that is on the air. With that, everything turned into a circular pillar of ice, freezing anything that is trapped inside of the circle, including Rukia and Taishi. After a moment has passed, the pillar of ice shattered, breaking apart from its form, along with Taishi, as he was being shattered along with it.

As particals of ice fell from their place, Rukia was the only one left standing, being the one who controled the nature of the technique. She was smiling, as she knew that the enemy is ultimately defeated. "... And that's it." she said.

"Rukia!" She heard Ichigo calling out to her, as she turned to see Ichigo, Renji and Shinji running towards her. And when she turned once more, she found the others, who are not fighting along with the others, running towards her as well. They all stopped when they are close. "Rukia... That was amazing... I didn't know that you can use a technique such as that." Ichigo said, amazed to see one of her techniques finishing off the enemy quite easily.

The young Shinigami scratched the back of her head, as she felt a little shy to know that one of her friends is amazed by that. "Yeah... It's been a while since I released Shikai and used one of my techniques... Glad to know that I'm praised by that..."

Renji smiled at her, as he walked up to her and roughly placed his hand on the top of her head, as he turned his hand around her hair, messing it up. "Yep. That's the good old Rukia that I remembered back then." he said, as he chuckled.

"H-hey! Stop it...! Renji, it's not a big deal...! Honestly...!" said Rukia, getting a little annoyed of him messing up her hair just because she used that one technique to finish the fight.

Shinji smiled at the warm moment after the battle. He thought that it would take a long time, but he was glad that they were able to finish it up as quick as possible. As he looked around to see the others, he found the two normal humans looking at the others with their face still showing signs of shock. He wasn't surprised, since they experienced something that is unnatural and out of this world. "You two alright?" he asked them, which made the others to look at the two.

Keita and Akane weren't able to say anything after the battle, since they all saw the true nature of the others around them. It was so unnatural... So unrealistic... But all and all, it was the reality. Not a dream, not a thought, it's really the reality. After a while, Keita was able to stand up for himself and asked Shinji, as well as the others, the usual thing. "... Can... Can any of you tell us... What is going on around here...?"

Shinji looked at the young boy for a while, before he nodded. "... Of course. After all... The battle is over. And we have won."

"... Have you?"

Suddenly, they all heard a voice. The same voice that came from the very person that they have fought before. Looking at the direction of where they heard it, everyone gasped of shock. Standing on the roof of the small building was Taishi, alive and perfectly in one piece, as he smirked down at the shocked group with his arms crossed in front of him.

"What...?! You?! But I thought...?!" exclaimed Ichigo, shocked to see Taishi still alive.

"Surprised?" he said, chuckling a little. "I was expecting that from all of you, since you all thought that I am dead after that attack.

"But how?!" exclaimed Renji, shocked and mad at the Chinese man at the same time. "Rukia's technique should have ultimately killed you! She shattered you along with the ice! There's no way that you can survive that!"

"... True." said Taishi. "However, there is only one flaw upon your "victory" against me. What you are all fighting against... was simply a puppet of mine."

Rukia widened her eyes in shock, along with the others with the same feeling as her. "A puppet...?! After all this time, we were fighting a puppet?!"

Taishi chuckled once more at the group. "That's right. My puppet took my place in the battle for the very beginning. All the efforts that you have put into that battle were all wasted. And you all have to fight me once more again, without all of your bested efforts."

"... I see." said Shinji, as he understood what was wrong before. "I knew there was something odd when I slashed your back. Even though that your muscles are pretty tough on my blade, when I slashed your back, the skin felt too soft, unlike how tough it looks. I didn't understand why... Until now."

Taishi nodded. "Indeed. I'm glad that you are catching on to it."

"... Then let me ask you something, Taishi." said Shinji, as he was able to take notice of another thing. "... Is the one that we are facing now... also a puppet?" When he said, everyone looked at him with shock in their eyes.

"What...?!" said Ichigo, as he looked at Shinji, with the others. He then looked back at Taishi with the same shock in his eyes. "Is that true...?!"

Taishi chuckled once again. "Heh heh... You have quite an eye, strong one. Yes, the one who stands on the roof... is also a puppet, just like the other one."

"What?! Then... Then where are you, exactly?!" exclaimed Renji.

"My true self is nowhere near you... Or in the city, in that matter." replied Taishi. "It is foolish of me, a strategist, to try and take up the battle alone, when he was supposed to make up tactics for the many battles that are yet to come."

"A strategist...?!" said Rukia.

"Indeed." he said. "But don't be fooled by that logic. Even though that my true self is a strategist... It doesn't mean that he is weak as the puppets that he sent out to put an end to you all." He smirked once more. "In fact, one single technique will bring an absolute end to you all, no matter how separate you are. But just to be fair, I sent out puppets to take up my battles for a while, until the time comes... for me to absolutely kill you all."

Ichigo growled out of anger, as he was already in his fighting position. "You bastard...! Tell us where you are, damn it!" he shouted, as he was about to attack. However, suddenly, he felt a strong weigth being taken onto him, as he felt himself being down from his usual stand, just a little. The others shared the same weigth, as they both moved down a little by it. Orihime and Uryuu were weak enough against it, as they were kneeing down to the ground, while Keita and Akane, being the weakest of the group, were struggling on the ground by the weigth that was placed on their shoulders. Everyone all groaned at that sudden feel. "Wh... What the...?!"

"What... What's going on...?!" said Uryuu, as he struggled to get himself up from the ground. "That... That large Reiatsu...!"

Taishi continued to smirk, as he knew what was going on. "Looks like it's almost time..."

Renji looked up to the enemy with effort in his body. "Almost... time for what...?!"

"Do you all remembered the chamber that was hidding deep underground? You know... The large energy sphere inside of the chamber?"

"Large energy sphere...?!" said Shinji, wondering what Taishi meant. Then, he remembered. The certain room with the energy sphere that has been hovering above the altar. "You mean...?! Then that sphere...?! What does it really do...?!"

"Why telling you this, when it will happen very much soon?" said Taishi, who didn't bother trying to answer it. "But, if you are eager to know, then there is an ability that the energy sphere has. It has the ability to take possession of the large area around it, and teleport it to its rightful owner. In other words... It can take the city of Tokyo in other places, such as our base."

"... What...?! Is that true...?!"

"Wait a minute...! Then this battle...!" said Rukia, as she now understood what it was all about. "It takes some time for the sphere to emit that large Reiatsu...! So that it will begin to use its ability to...! Then this battle... You were distracting us?!"

"You have finally get the picture, my dear lady." Taishi said, chuckling as the others were able to understand what this was all about. The Reiatsu seemed to have vanished, as the others felt like the weigth has been lifted from their shoulders, as they stood up from the ground. "This battle was just a distraction to spar much time for the energy sphere to begin its countdown. It will be of no use for you to try and destroy. It is invincible when it is starting its countdown. You are all wasting your time for nothing..."

"So... We failed...?" said Orihime, who could not believe that it had actually happened in a place such as Tokyo.

"Usually, I would leave the battle and let you go... However, I fear that you might have a chance in getting out of the city in a spar time. And if you do, my lord won't be happy that the heroes of the prophecy isn't in our possession. So..." As he said that, he reached out his hand in front of him, as a spark of lightning began to form into it, as his spear appeared in his hand. "... It's time to end you all. This is farewell..."

Ichigo growled at the sight of his enemy beginning to fight against them. "Fine...! If it's the fight that you want, then it's a fight that you'll get!" he shouted, as he was about to jump at Taishi, until... Suddenly, Shinji's arm was moved in front of the orange-haired Shinigami, stopping from going any further. He looked at Shinji next to him. "Shinji, what are you...?!"

"... Ichigo." Shinji started to say. "... You and the others have to get out of Tokyo as fast as you can. I'll take care of the puppet on my own."

"What?! You want us to go?!"

"If what Taishi said is true, then you guys will be able to get out of here before the sphere can take Tokyo in its possession and teleport it somewhere. I don't want any of you to waste your time here just to get yourselves trapped along with him."

"But... But Hirako-kun!" said Orihime, worried about the Vizard. "What about you?!"

"... I'm going to stay here to keep him busy, from stopping you from escaping the city. It's a sacrifice that I'm willing to take."

"Shinji... Are you sure about this?" asked Ichigo, concern about the situation on the Vizard.

Shinji smirked, as he closed his eyes in deep thoughts. "... I'm sure. Don't worry about it." he said. "Heh... And here, I thought that I'm the only one who can help you become a Vizard alone... But now..." He became silent, as he trailed off from what he wanted to say. Then, he opened his eyes again and looked at Ichigo. "Ichigo! I need you guys to find Sarugaki Hiyori! She and the other Vizards are on their way to Tokyo! She's going to help you overcome your Hollow powers and become one of us! You have to get out of here before it's too late!"

"... Shinji..." Ichigo was concern about Shinji's safety, whenever or not that he'll survive after the city will be taken to another place. He wanted to stay here and defeat Taishi as fast as they could so they could get out of here together. But looking at the situation now... And how much Shinji wanted them to get out of ehre, leaving him behind... He had no other choice. He nodded. "Alright... I'll take up your words."

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime gasped at Ichigo's decision. She was about to protest, but Uryuu placed his hand on her shoulder, as she looked back at him to see him shaking his head.

Shinji smiled. "Alright... Good to know." he said. "Find Hiyori. She's a small girl with blond hair and a pair of spiky ponytails. You can't miss her, if you match the description. Now, get out of here! Quick!"

Ichigo nodded, as he turned around to face the direction where they should get out of here. However, before he could get going, he looked at Keita, who seemed too immobilize to know what was going on. "Hey, snap out of it, man!" he said, as he lend his hand towards the young boy. Keita looked down at his hand, unable to know what is going on around here. "Come on! It's too dangerous to stay here! You have to hold my hand!"

After a short while, Keita snapped out of his thoughtful mind, as he quickly nodded, even though he didn't understand what's going on. "A... Alright!" he said, as he took Ichigo's hand in his.

"Kurosaki-kun!" said Orihime, as she went over to Ichigo's side and grabbed onto his other hand. Ichigo nodded at her.

Rukia went to Akane, as she had her back facing her. "You too, miss! We have to get going!" she said. Akane looked down at the young Shinigami and, just like Keita, she nodded and got onto her back.

Both Renji and Uryuu nodded to each other, as Uryuu quickly climbed onto Renji's back. "Alright! Let's go, everyone!" shouted Renji, as the others nodded and the three Shinigamis jumped off from the battlefield, along with the others.

Seeing them getting away, Taishi groaned and was about to go after them. "You will not get away that easily!" he shouted. However, he halted himself, as Shinji quickly appeared in front of him with a few feet away from each other.

"I'm your opponent. Come and face me instead." Shinji said.

Staring at Shinji in front of him, Taishi groaned out of frustration and annoyance. "How cruel... My lord will never forgive me that I let the heroes of the prophecy escaped..." he moaned. Then, he looked at Shinji with anger in his eyes. "And I'll have to make you pay for making me miss them!"

Shinji smirked, as he moved his Zanpakuto in front of him. "... I can tell that you won't be an easy opponent." he said. "So in order for Ichigo and the others to escape safely... I'll have to use my Shikai to give them time to escape." As he said that, he called out the command of his Zanpakuto. "**Collapse, Sakanade.**" As he said that, the pommel of his Zanpakuto became a large ring, as he grabbed it and spinned it around and around, as it changed its form. The first few inches of the blade was covered by an extension of the hand guard. The blade itself is straight and slim with the tip ending in a slanted razor-like edge instead of being tapered to a point. There are five holes along the swords length.

Taishi looked at Shinji's transformed Zanpakuto with surprise. But his surprise left him, as he smirked. "Interesting transformation... However, do you really think a transformed katana will be enough to get rid of me? You do realize that I have only used half of my strength against you before, and that now, I am not holding back?"

Shinji nodded in response. "I know. But, just changing the form of my Zanpakuto is not the only thing that will help me." he said, with a smirk on his face. "Tell me... Do you see anything strange in your view?"

"Hm?" Taishi was confused about why he asked him that. But suddenly, he widened his eyes, as something is wrong in his view. The world... suddenly went upside down. "What...?! What is this trickery...?!"

"Heh heh..." Shinji chuckled, as he saw that his opponent had just realized the change of his view. "This trickery... is my trump card. Welcome... to the "inverted" world, my friend."

"Inverted... world...?" Taishi seemed to understand why this has happened. The world went upside down on him... So what was the point of it? He smirked. "What? Just so you have the ability to invert the world so suddenly doesn't change the fact that you will be able to defeat me."

Shinji continued to chuckle. "We'll see..." Shinji said, as he charged at his opponent upside down.

Taishi was prepared for that, as he was about to block it at the right moment. When Shinji got real close, and is about to slash his opponent with his Zanpakuto, Taishi quickly lifted his spear up in front of him to block it. However, at the moment where his Zanpakuto hits the spear, Taishi felt a quick pain on the back, as he yelled out of pain. He quickly moved his free hand to his back, to see a large wound on it. He looked at Shinji, who already moved away from him at the same spot as before. "What...?! My back has been slashed..?!"

"Surprised?" asked Shinji, with a smirk on his face. "Instead of attacking you in the front, I attacked you in the back, just the opposite of what you saw."

"... The opposite...?"

"Tell me. What is the difference in your sight?"

"The difference...?" When Shinji asked him that, he began to put some thought into it. He could see that up and down is reversed... "... Up and down..." Along with that, left and right... "... Left and right..." That was all he could find about the difference. "... Wait a minute..." He began to put some more through into it, of the slash on the back instead of the front. "... Front and back too...?!"

"Very good, my friend." said Shinji, as he smirked at his opponent. "Now, how about we take it for another spin, shall me?" As he said that, Shinji quickly disappeared.

Taishi began to look around to where he is, until he found the blond Vizard charging at him to his left. "Attack from the left...? No..." He remembered that the sense of direction has been reversed, and that Shinji charging to his left in his sight... means that he is charging from the right, in reality. Smirking, as he began to understand it, he turned to his right and moved his spear in front of him to block the attack. "Looks like I got the hang of it well!" he said.

However, suddenly, he was once again being cut again, as he let out a loud groan of pain. This time, it was on his chest, as he moved his hand over it. He could feel the sharp wound on it, and for some reason, he didn't understand how he got cut again. "But how...?! I thought I had it right this time...!"

"Oh yeah. Forgot to mention..." said Shinji, as he moved back from his opponent once more. "Not only those your sense of direction has been reversed, but your eyesight and where you get cut... gets reversed as well."

"My eyesight... And where I get cut as well...?!" Now, Taishi was starting to get confused. He understood the reverse of directions, but... The eyesight and the target as well? How can it be? How could it be reversed as well?

"See now, bud?" Shinji asked. "No matter how hard you try to get adapted into it, you will always end up getting hurt. All you can do... is to trust in your reflex. But I can see that you're not relying on it very much. Getting adapted into it... is impossible."

"... I see..." Taishi said, as he smirked a little. "... Then that means that this puppet won't be able to put a match against you, huh...? It's already over, in your side now... However..." Before he could say anything more, he chuckled a little. "... You won't be able to bring an end to me, and to the others as well... Once you have been teleported along with this city... There will be no way out..."

"... I know." Shinji said, as his smirk fade away from his face. And at that time, a large ray of light was shot out from where the small building is, engulfing Taishi into it, as he was still standing on the roof of it. As Shinji watched as the ray of light grew larger and larger, he knew that he had no way out of there, once he was teleported into a different place. He turned around to look at somewhere. "... Sorry, Hiyori." he said. "I guess I won't be able to pay you back the 50 000 yen that I spent from you." As soon as he said it, the ray of light engulfed him.

----------

Meanwhile, Ichigo and the others were jumping and sprinting through the city, trying their best to get out of there as soon as possible, before it was too late. Keita and Orihime were holding onto each of Ichigo's shoulders, while Rukia had Akane on her back and Renji had Uryuu on his back. They couldn't let Shinji's sacrifice go to waste, and they have to get out of here before they get teleported along with the entire city. "How much further until we're out of there?!" asked Rukia to Ichigo.

"I'm not sure. But no matter what, we can't stop! Shinji put his faith into us to escape the city, and we can't let it go to waste! We have to move faster!"

Keita was holding on tightly into Ichigo's shoulder, afraid that he will fall off from him and that he will somehow fall from the sky. As he turned his head to look at the back, he saw something unexpected. A large ray of light which seemed to increase its size and it was already engulfing much of the center of the city. "Um... Uh... H-h-h... Hey, guys...?" Keita wasn't able to speak more clearly, at the sight of it.

"What's the matter, Ibuki-kun?" asked Orihime, as she looked at Keita. Following his gaze, she gasped. "Ichigo! It's already starting! And it's gaining on us!"

Ichigo growled softly. "Damn it...! Come on, guys! We gotta move faster!" he shotued to the other Shinigamis, as they run and jump as fast as they could so that the ray of light won't get to them... They hoped so. As much as they moved faster, the ray of light continued to grow even more faster than their speed, engulfing more of the city and its size gaining on the group. Keita let out a shout of fear, at how close the size of the ray is. He watched as it got closer and closer and closer, almost touching Ichigo and the others... However, a second later, it suddenly stopped gaining on them.

"Wha...?" Keita looked confused. As he looked around to see why it had stopped, he could see that there are no more buildings in sight. The ray of light already engulfed the entire city... And the gorup were lucky to have escaped it.

A long while later, the group were already far away from where the city once stood, now trapped inside of the ginormous ray of light. They stopped somewhere in the plains, as the Shinigamis let go of their passengers and they all looked back at the ray of light. It was still there, even after several minutes has passed. They could only stare at it with shock in their eyes. "... Tokyo... It's... been engulfed..." said Akane in disbelief.

Time has already passed, as the ray of light began to shorten itself in size, at a speed that is doubled from its normal inital speed. As it disappeared completely, all that is left... is a large gap on the group. Tokyo... has completely vanished from everyone's sight.

"... The city... it's completely gone..." said Renji.

"Everything is gone... The ray of light teleported the entire city somewhere... And now, it's gone..." said Uryuu.

"But why?" asked Orihime. "Why did they want Tokyo? What is so special about it anyway?" Now that she mentioned it, everyone began to wonder why. Weren't they supposed to kill Ichigo? If so, then why the entire city? Maybe it's because they want to trap Ichigo inside of it... Who knows. Was it all planned long before?

"... Tokyo..." Keita started to say something, as he continued to stare at where the city once stood. "... My home... It's really gone... But someone... or something that I don't know..." He then looked down at the ground, as many thoughts came in mind. About what had happened today, and how much did it change his view in things.

Akane looked at Keita, sharing the same feeling as him. Keita suffered so much from the deaths of the people close to him... And now, everything went upside down to them because of their discovery about Shinigamis and people who are here to kill. Everything is messed up today... And they still didn't understand why...

After a while, Ichigo turned around from his sight of the empty air, as he began to walk forward. "... Come on, you guys. Let's get going."

"... Where, Ichigo?" asked Rukia.

"... To find that Hiyori person that Shinji told us about. If that black guy... And that other guy earlier... are really that strong... Then I have to find her, so that she can help me control my Hollow powers, before it could take over my entire body again... And also... so that I can become stronger..." When he said that, he curled his hands up into a pair of fists, as he tightened them hard. "... So that I can avenge Shinji for his sacrifice... And to avenge Chad, who had been taken along with the city..."

"... Kurosaki-kun..." Orihime said. Everything happened so quickly... And they didn't understand why... Why did it happened? Why did that phenomenon took place? And why did they lost friends to it? Why...?

"... Kurosaki." said Uryuu. "Before we go look for that Hiyori person, we have to bring Ibuki-san and Sano-san to a nearby city, where they will be safe from harm. I believe that they have experienced too much from it." As he said that, he looked at the two normal humans, as they continued to experience the feeling of losing their home... And of being lost into everything that happened.

Ichigo nodded in agreement. "Right... Let's take them there." he said, as he walked back to the two humans. He placed his hand on Keita's shoulder, but he couldn't really move from his spot. "I'm sorry about what happened today... We'll take you somewhere safe so that you won't continue to experience it..."

It took a while for Keita to snap out from his thoughts about everything, as he looked at the orange-haired Shinigami and, after another good while, he nodded. "... Yeah... You're right..." he said. He then looked at Akane, who continued to look at her childhood friend. "... Akane-san... Will you come with me...?"

"... Yeah..." she quietly said, in which everyone heard.

Ichigo nodded, as well as the others. "... Alright... Let's get going..." he said, as he, and the others, were about to walk forward to a nearby city. However, before they could do that, 8 beams of light suddenly appeared in front of them, alerting them at the sight of it. As all of them dissipated, it revealed some people from each of them.

Rukia widened her eyes in shock, as she remembered them. "Those... Those guys...! They're the ones who we fought before!"

Standing before them were 8 mysterious beings, the same ones as yesterday, with their hand holding their individual gun. They looked as if they are ready to face them once more.

Ichigo, as the sight of them, began to growl softly, which turned into an angry one as time goes by. "Damn it...! How many times, damn it...?! Everything happened so fast...! Everything happened before we couldn't even react to it...! Now, you guys are here... to make everything worse again?!" he shouted, as he pulled out his large Zanpakuto from his back. "I don't know who the hell you guys are... But I'm not in the mood to let the others experience it again! You guys are going down!"

In response to that, Rukia and Renji stepped in together with him, with their Zanpakuto released and ready to go, while Orihime stood guard in front of Uryuu and the two stunned humans. All of the mysterious beings lifted their guns at the group, as they are prepared to shoot when they are ready. The others are ready as well, ready to fight their enemies to prevent the others from going deep into the loss of their vision of the world. They will do anything to prevent it.

... However...

Suddenly, another beam of light struck into the ground, this time, closer to the group, surprising them, along with the mysterious beings. As the beam of light dissipated, it did not reveal another one of the mysterious being, but in their view, some kind of a human being, kneeing down on the ground. As the human began to stand up slowly, they could see the description from the back.

What he was wearing is somekind of a black and orange jumpsuit, with a red spiral on the back. He also has blond and spiky hair. It wasn't one of them... But he's still considered to be a stranger to the others. "What the...?" started Ichigo, upon seeing that someone. "Who... Who the hell are you...?"

"... Heh." The mysterious person chuckled, as he pulled out a kunai from his pouch. After pulling it out, the blade suddenly turned into a blade of fire, surprising everyone who are standing behind him. "... Looks like I'm not too late to save you guys. Those Aerogaters are really a pain in the ass, every once in a while."

"Wha... Who are you...? And... what are you?!" asked Rukia, who wanted a logical answer to the mysterious person.

"Remember it well, because you're gonna hear it all over again!" he said, as he grinned. "The name is Uzumaki Naruto! The Jinchuuriki of the Leaf!"

**End of chapter**

Hey, guys. It's me again, with a new... And yet, sorta off... chapter. Yeah, I'm a little bit of a rush right now, so sorry if it seemed too... weird to understand. I dunno... Maybe it's sorta like a... deadline to me, but only in mind... Yeah... Yeah, I guess that's it.

Well, you guys, thanks for letting me know which mangas/animes that I will choose to include in the fic. Rurouni Kenshin, Black Cat, Street Fighter, Negima and Gintama... Not sure which one will be suited in the fic, but I'll see. And about Gintama... Well... It's not really an action manga... It's more of a parody one... Well, I guess I can use Gintama characters for some comedy.

Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	12. Chapter 11: A Vow to Protect

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

**Zanpakuto/Technique/Jutsu**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes.

**Chapter 11:**

**A Vow to Protect**

"Take THIS!!!" A sound of two wooden objects clashing was heard, inside of a certain large room where the people of the ship were training there to improve their fighting capabilities.

"Very good. But you still need more speed and concentrate less on strength!" A few series of wood clashing against each other were heard around the room, as the blond ninja deflected many of the purple-haired Gundam Meister's sword blows, until they eventually caught each other in a power struggle, with their wooden sword in hand.

The Jinchuuriki of the Leaf smirked at his teacher of the training. "Heh...! Not bad, huh, Tieria-senpai?" he said.

Tieria nodded. "Of course... But don't get too ahead of yourself!" At the same time, the two of them pushed each other off of themselves, as they both slid back a little far away from each other. Naruto charged at the Meister, his wooden sword ready for another strike. However, as he was slashing horizontally, Tieria quickly dodged the attack by moving to the side, followed by a slash to his defenseless arms, in which the ninja quickly moved back to avoid the attack on his arm.

Naruto then attempted to slash him against the gut, but the Meister quickly jumped off from the attack and landed behind the ninja, who then turned around with his wooden sword swinging with him. Tieria blocked the attack just as soon as he saw it coming, and attempted to swing his leg, the opposite of where both of their swords are, to his head. Naruto ducked from the swinging kick and swing his own leg at Tieria's unprotected legs, as he was able to trip him, as he fell down from the ground. Naruto did not give him a chance to fall to the ground, as he quickly grabbed Tieria's arm, with his left hand, and threw him over behind.

Tieria regained his balance and landed on the ground, before immediately charging at his opponent with his wooden sword in front of them. Once again, the two are caught in a power struggle against their sword. Tieria smiled at the progress that Naruto has made. "Good reflex. And good counterattack. You're getting the hang of it well, Naruto."

Naruto grinned at the compliment that his senpai was giving to him. "Heh heh...! Told ya that I can do it in just a single day!" he said, as the both of them pushed each other off once more, as they were moving back from one another, like last time.

As Tieria stood still from the push, he slowly stood straigth up from his fighting position, moving his wooden sword down. "Indeed... You really are learning quick, Naruto. It's really impressive that you are able to master three techniques of the Sword of Endless Hellfire and as well as getting adapted with your skill in sword fighting. However, you still have a lot of ways to go, since it isn't necessarily enough to beat one of the members of the Dark Wolves."

"Yeah... I know." Naruto nodded, as he stood straight up from his position as well. "I still need a lot of practice to be able to match those guys... Including that Fuhrer guy. I won't rest until I'm strong enough to beat any of them, and eventually, the leader as well."

"... It is good to see that you acknowledged the strength of your enemies." Tieria said, as he walked over to Naruto, before placing his hand on one of his shoulders. "Remember, Naruto. This isn't the usual kind of fighting that you're used to. Soon, you'll be fighting against enemies that have high technologies in their side, and will most likely use it on you and your friends. You mustn't falter even for a bit against them, or else, you'll make a mistake that will cost your life, eventually."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgment. "Don't worry. This isn't my world anymore. It's a world that's been fused by a dark organization with a large experience than us. I can't let my guard down. I'll have to fight with everything I have against them."

Tieria nodded at the blond ninja. It had been a day since the Meister offered the young ninja to let him teach him everything he knew about sword fighting. And Naruto was already beginning to master some of the techniques of the Sword of Endless Hellfire. The ninja was becoming strong... But still not strong enough to take on the Dark Wovles.

Suddenly, the large door of the training room was slid upon, making the two men to look at whoever is coming. Their sights were been laid by the lazy and smart Chuunin, who had just witnessed the end of the training session between the two of now. "Looks like you two are done training for a while. How's it going, Naruto?"

"Well, it's going fine. But I still need to train harder." said Naruto, as he gave Shikamaru his usual trademark grin. "I haven't rest or sleep for once for more than a day. And I'm still alive and kicking for some more training!"

"Yeah, that;s the same old Naruto that I know." said Shikamaru, as he smiled to see Naruto in his usual confidence self. But he didn't forget to tell them about something. "Hey, guys. There's something that I want to show you. Something that is a little surprising on a certain someone."

"Certain someone?" Naruto asked, as he tilted his head. "What happened? Did somebody for hurt?"

"No, actually. But I still want to show you two about it. Come with me." Shikamaru said, as he turned around and left the room, making sure that the other two are following him.

"Huh... I wonder what could it be..." said Naruto, trying to figure out what Shikamaru wanted to show them about. With a shrug, as well as pushing the thought off for the moment, he decided to follow Shikamaru, to see what is really going on around here. Tieria followed the two, with no thoughts of wonder.

----------

Shikamaru was leading the two boys to somewhere, through the hallways, as they were all riding a handle each, as it moved across the hall, in the gravityless air. "We're almost there. Most of the others are in there as well, so it's only right for you guys to come as well." said Shikamaru, as they continued to ride onto the moving handle, just until they reach the certain room that Shikamaru was leading them to.

After passing by a few rooms, they eventually reached the last room of the hallway, as Shikamaru went through the sliding door. Naruto and Tieria followed him, as they entered a room, as they both saw most of the comrades in there. Hinata, Karin, Lockon and Sumeragi. "Hey, what's up, you guys?" Naruto asked, as he looked around the group. When he looked what was in front of him to the center, his eyes were widened in surprise.

He saw Mika, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed, with her hands forming a handseal which seemed to be the ram one, and with her eyes closed. What surprised him was that she was surrounded by a light aura, with a small circular mark around her. She seemed to be concentrating on something that Naruto and Tieria did not know yet. "What is Mika doing...?" he asked to anyone around him.

"Well, it looks like that she's concentrating on something." said Sumeragi, as she looked away from the Chosen and set her sights on the blond ninja. "But I think she may be trying to find the auras of the heroes of the prophecy, from the looks of it."

"She is? Wow..." Naruto wasn't expecting that to happen already. He didn't really look down at the Chosen One, after hearing about her using a technique on Fuhrer before, and he couldn't expect anything less of her from that. Since she was still a Chosen, who was still trying to adapt herself through her powers, she would get used to it after a long while. But not this early. And it surprised the Jinchuuriki. "How long has she been doing that?"

"Almost a whole day." replied Karin, her eyes still fixing on the concentrating Chosen. "And still, I can see that she is determined to find the other heroes. She hadn't rest up even once during her concentration. It's almost like she doesn't want to rest and that she wants to find the heroes as soon as possible. She's really that determined..."

"Mika..." Naruto now understood what she was trying to accomplish. As the Chosen One, all she had to do is to use her powers to find the other heroes of the prophecy, where ever they are. She was as determined as he was. And she looked like she was working hard as well, just like him. He smiled, as he was able to see the similarity between the two.

After a while, something happened to her. The aura around her was beginning to turn itself into a small wind that goes up, as her hair was being flown up with it. The aura became brighter than normal, becoming intense as well. That surprised everyone around her, as they stared at her increasing the flow of the energy. After a short while, the circular mark disappeared from her, as well as the aura. She slowly opened her eyes after wards. "... I can see." she said.

"Did you find something, Mika?" asked Sumeragi.

The Chosen One looked at the Tactical Forecaster with a nod. "Yes... I am able to find one of the heroes of the prophecy. He isn't too hard to find in the planet."

"Who is it, Mika?" asked Lockon.

"The Substitute Shinigami."

----------

A while later, the group quickly went inside of the control room, joining the others who are working in their position. After receiving a surprising discovery from the Chosen, they didn't want to waste any more time to wait before they search for one of the heroes, the Substitute Shinigami. Sumeragi quickly moved herself behind the seat, as she began to give out the order to her crew mate. "Feldt! Bring the Earth on the monitor!"

The pink-haired girl nodded. "Yes, ma'am!" she said, as she typed out a combination of keywords in her position. On the large screen, the image of the broken Earth has appeared.

The Tactical Forecaster looked at the Chosen to know the following answer. "Which area is the Substitute Shinigami being located?"

Mika looked around at the broken parts of the Earth, searching for one of them that told her that the Shinigami must be there. After a short while, she found it. "There. In the small piece where it shows only one small land."

Sumeragi nodded. "Feldt!"

"Understood!" Feldt answered, as she typed in another combination of keywords, so that the screen zoomed itself in towards the small piece of the Earth. As it was done zooming, it showed a land that everyone of the Celestial Beings remembered as Japan, one of the Asian countries.

Mika continued to search for the location of the Shinigami, as she analyzed the land very closely. It took her a few seconds to find it, as she exclaimed. "There! At the small area from the south at the center! Zoom it in, please!"

Feldt nodded in response, as she once again typed in a combination of keywords, as the screen zoomed in closer to Japan, at the south of the center area. There, they could see that it was where Tokyo is... Or at least, once was. All that was left was a large vast area, with no buildings at all.

The Celestial Beings were pretty much surprised, as Tokyo wasn't even there anymore. "What the...? Where's the city of Tokyo? I thought that it would be in the southern area, where it is..." said Lichty, confused at the missing city.

The Chosen continued to search around the area where Tokyo was before. Then, when she looked up in the screen, her eyes widened with surprise. "Zoom in to the far north of the area, please!" Feldt acknowledged her order, as she zoomed the screen in to the north, as it got closer to the ground. And then, there it is. A group of people who are looking at the south, where Tokyo once stood. One of them had orange hair, with a large blade on his back, as well as wearing a black hakama. She gasped, as she remembered that man. She smiled widely. "It's him! That's the Substitute Shinigami!"

"Alright!" said Naruto, as he thrust his fist up upon being able to find him. "Way to go, Mika! You sure worked hard into finding him!"

Mika turned to look at the Jinchuuriki, as she smiled up to him. "Thank you... And I would have never succeed on finding one of them without your help... As well as the others." she said. "If I weren't able to find you all, I would have lost hope and that I would let the world being crumble into darkness... I am so glad that I met you all..." The others around her all looked at her, smiling as they were glad that they were able to find her before. Without her help, they won't be able to find any of the remaining heroes in time.

Lockon, who looked fondly at Mika with the others, then looked back at the screen. However, upon looking back at it, there was something that have brought shock in his eyes. "Oh no...! Aerogaters!" he exclaimed, as the others all looked at him, alerted by the sound of Aerogaters coming.

They all followed his gaze, as they received the same shocking eyes as him. On the screen, as the Shinigami and his group were walking to the north, 8 beams of light appeared before them, stopping them from moving any forward. "No...! Are we too late...?!" said Hinata, as she feared that they were too late, upon seeing the Aerogaters there.

"Damn it...!" cursed Karin. "If they're here, then there might be a possibility that the Substitute Shinigami will...!"

Naruto wasted no time into listening what the others said, as he quickly turned around and was about to exit the room through the sliding door, until Lockon noticed him beginning to leave and called out to him. "Naruto, where are you going?!"

"What else?!" Naruto said, as he turned his head to look at the brown-haired Gundam Meister. "I'm gonna save the Substitute Shinigami before the Aerogaters will kill him! Sumeragi-san, warp me into where they are when I get to the warp room!" Naruto wasted no more time into staying there, as he quickly moved himself through the door into the gravityless air.

"Naruto, hold up!" said Lockon, as he was about to join up with him. However, he was stopped when Tieria placed his hand on his shoulder, halting him from going any further. Lockon looked back at his comrade with confusion in his eyes.

Tieria shook his head, as he already knew what the outcome of the battle will be. "Let him go alone. He'll take care of them as quick as possible. The training he received paid off on his strength."

The brown-haired Gundam Meister, was about to object to it, but when he saw deep into Tieria's eyes, eyes filled with faith, he decided to keep quiet to himself, as he acknowledged what his comrade said. "Alright... If you say so, Tieria."

Tieria nodded, as he let go of his comrade's shoulder and looked back at the monitor, as well as with the others inside of the room. The Hyuuga was feeling worried, however. Seeing Naruto leaving without the others made her feel uneasy, as she wasn't sure if Naruto would be able to take care of himself against the many enemies that he will face soon. "Naruto-kun... Be careful..."

----------

"Damn it...! How many times, damn it...?!" groaned the orange-haired Shinigami, as he and his friends are now facing 8 mysterious beings that appeared before them, ready to raise their weapon against them. "Everything happened so fast...! Everything happened before we couldn't even react to it...! Now, you guys are here... to make everything worse again?!" He quickly grabbed hold of his large Zanpakuto from his back and pulled it in front of him, as he got into his fighting stance. "I don't know who the hell you guys are... But I'm not in the mood to let the others experience it again! You guys are going down!"

His two friends, Rukia and Renji, stepped in with him, as they already drew out their released Zanpakutos in their hands, as they are both ready to fight the 8 mysterious beings along with Ichigo. Orihime stood in front of the two helpless humans and Uryuu, as she was prepared to protect them from their enemies. With the mysterious beings lifting their gun up at them, the two opposing groups are going to fight each other.

However, they were suddenly surprised, as a beam of light was shot out to the ground, just close to Ichigo and the others. As it dissipated, Naruto appeared from the dissipating beam, kneeing down before slowly standing up from the ground. He was now facing against the 8 beings of the Aerogaters, just in time as well. "... Heh." he chuckled, as he pulled out his kunai from his pouch, in which the blade suddenly turned into a long blade of fire, surprising the group behind him. "... Looks like I'm not too late to save you guys. Those Aerogaters are really a pain in the ass, every once in a while."

"Wh... Who are you...? And... what are you?!" exclaimed Rukia, who sounded like she wanted a good explanation for the Jinchuuriki appearing out of nowhere.

Naruto grinned. "Remember it well, because you're gonna hear it all over again! The name is Uzumaki Naruto! The Jinchuuriki of the Leaf!" And just in time, after the 8 beings recovered themselves from the surprise appearance of the Jinchuuriki, they raised their weapon at Naruto, ready to fire it at any time. Seeing it, Naruto began to move his sword to the side. "I don't think so, you bastards!" he shouted, as he swung his sword at them, regardless of the distance between him and them, creating a large wave of fire that moved itself forward at them. "**Fire Wave!**" he shouted out the name of his technique.

Noticing the large wave of fire, the beings were unable to shoot in time, as they all jumped out of the way of the attack. Three of them jumped off to each side, as the remaining two simply jumped off the ground to avoid the attack, before landing back on the ground. They all looked at Naruto, but suddenly, he disappeared from their view. They looked around to see where he is, until suddenly, the ninja appeared in front of the left group of three beings, before charging at them. "You're wide open!" he shouted, as he made quick work on them by slashing them one at the time, while going through them all. As he stopped just a few feet away from the three beings, they all collapsed to the ground, defeated from the quick slash they each received.

Naruto looked behind him to see the three beings defeated, as he grinned. Then, he looked at the two beings from the middle, as he already jumped off from the ground just before the two beings were able to try and shoot him. "Not this time!" he shouted, as he dived down to the being close to him as he quickly sliced it in two, upon landing on the ground. The remaining being aimed its gun at Naruto, but the ninja slapped it out with a swinging kick. As he did that, Naruto spun himself around after wards, and kicked the being's head with his other leg and the heel. As the being was defenseless after the impact of his kick on its head, Naruto quickly sliced its head off after his attack, ending it quick.

Just then, he heard a sound of a gun firing at him, as he turned to look at the last three beings, as they began to shoot him with their gun. Smirking, Naruto charged at the last three, blocking each of their blasts with his sword. As he got closed enough to one being to the left, he swung his sword up, slicing off its arm which holds the gun. The two other beings were already pointing their gun at Naruto, as they pulled the trigger to shoot out the energy blast at him. However, Naruto dodged it in time, as he jumped off from the ground. He then formed a cross handseal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" he shouted out, as three clones appeared beside him in the air, as all of them moved themselves in each direction of the three beings. Front, back, left and right. "You're done now!" said the real Naruto, who is facing the beings in the front. At the same time, the four Narutos charged towards the three beings, as they tried to take a shot at him. However, the four of them already had their attack made, as with a quick slash, they appeared in the opposite direction each, with their back facing the beings. And with that, the three beings fell in defeat.

Naruto smirked, as his clones disappeared after the attack. "... They're not so tough now." he said, as he stood straigth up, with his sword returning itself into a simple kunai, in which he placed it back inside of his pouch. He turned to look at the group, who were staring at him defeating all of the 8 beings with a speed that quick. He expected that, since the training he had with Tieria paid off. He then walked towards the group, just until he is facing one of them, such as Ichigo. "Hey, you guys alright?"

"What the hell...? Who are you...?" asked Ichigo, amazed at Naruto's quick victory over the 8 beings.

"What? One time isn't enough for you to remember it? Well, like I said. The name is Uzumaki Naruto." he replied, as he grinned and pointed his thumb at himself. "And... Are you the Substitute Shinigami?"

Ichigo gasped, as Naruto already learned of the title that he received before. "How did you know that I'm a Substitute Shinigami? ... Unless..." He realized, as he quickly got himself into his fighting stance, followed by the other two who both realized how Naruto learned about Ichigo's current title. "... Are you one of them?! Are you with that black guy and that guy who uses puppets to fight his battles for him?!"

"Huh? Black guy...? The guy with puppets...?" Naruto wondered what Ichigo was talking about, and why the three of them became alerted at him and preparing to fight. He realized what he was talking about. "Oh yeah... So that must mean that you already met some of the members of the Dark Wolves, huh?"

"Dark... Wolves...?" Rukia repeated what Naruto said about the name, but she shook it off, as she remembered him to be someone who they don't know, and know about Ichigo's title. "Answer the question! Are you one of them?!"

"Hm... If I am, I wouldn't have killed those Aerogaters from finishing you off." Naruto replied, as he pointed at the defeated beings from behind.

Renji realized what Naruto meant, as he moved his Zanpakuto down and got himself off of his fighting position. Everyone followed the same. "Hey, that's true..." he said. "So wait... Are you telling me that those things over there... And that the guys we fought before... are working together?"

Naruto nodded at the redhead. "Yeah. The Aerogaters, the guys who appeared themselves before you, are in the same league as the Dark Wolves, an organization that the two guys that you mentioned are in. And both of these groups are after you for one reason: You're one of the heroes of the prophecy."

"Wait... What? Me? A hero of a prophecy?" Ichigo was confused. He wasn't normally called a hero, not even once in a lifetime, but just be hearing him saying that he's a hero... That really is something that he didn't expect. "Hold on... How do you know about this?"

"Because I'm involved in this too. I'm the same as you, a hero of the prophecy." replied Naruto. "I'll explain the rest later. You guys will be in danger, if you stay here any longer. But first, I gotta make sure if all of you are ok. Are you?" The ninja received a nod from most of the people of the group, except for two. He looked at the two normal human beings, as they both stared at Naruto with shock in their eyes. Curious, Naruto went over to the two of them, passing by the others in the group. "Hey, are you two alright?"

Keita and Akane stayed silent when he asked that. It took Keita a while to be able to answer to the ninja. "I... Yeah... I'm alright..." he replied. Then, he looked at Akane. "How about you... Akane-san...?" he asked to her, in which she nodded in response.

"... You two looked like you didn't expect any of this to happen." said Naruto, as he examined the two a little more closer to what they looked. "So, other than the others, you two seemed to be trapped into this somehow, right?"

"... Y... Yeah..." Keita answered quietly, unable to speak out a complete answer.

Naruto nodded, as he understood what the two of them felt. It seemed to him that they were wrongfully involved into this, and if he left them behind, they would be in danger. So the only way to get them safe was to bring them along with the others. "Alright. Now that all of you are alright, I'll take you guys to somewhere safe." he said. Suddenly, a beam of light appeared in front of the group, as they all looked at it, while Naruto turned around to do the same. With the others seeing it with surprise, Naruto smirked, as he walked towards the beam. "Come on, you guys. Get inside of the beam, and it will take you all to the Ptolemaios, the only place where you'll be safe from the Dark Wolves or the Aerogaters."

"W... Wait a minute!" said Rukia, as she wanted to get it all clear in her head, about what had happened just now. "How... How do we know that we should trust you?!"

"... Like I said. I'm just like you guys. I'm involved into this somehow..." Naruto replied. "But there's no time for questions. You all have to get inside of the beam before reinforcements show up! Now come on!" As he said that, he was already inside of the beam, where it absorbed him up to the sky.

Ichigo and the others stared at the beam of light, as it still stood in front of them. "... Everything happened to fast..." said Ichigo. "... But... can we trust that guy?"

"... Well..." Renji started to say, as he began to walk towards the beam of light. "If what he said is true, then we have no other choice. Otherwise, we'll all be killed by some reinforcements. Let's just take up to his words and follow him." With that said, Renji entered the beam, as it took him up to the sky.

Orihime then followed up to Renji's footsteps. But before she goes, she looked at Ichigo. "Kurosaki-kun... It's too dangerous to stay here any longer." she said to him. "We're no longer safe in here, if we continued to stay in our home. If we stay here, we'll risk hurting our friends and family... So for once, we'll have to take up to the blond boy's words, alright?" She received no common response from the Substitute Shinigami, as he remained speechless. Unable to stay any longer for his answer, she want to the beam of light, as it took her up as well.

Rukia had doubts about it, but she sighed, as she found the situation to be dangerous. "Maybe they're right... It's too dangerous to stay here. That guy has a lot of knowledge about the situation than we have, and he's reasonable enough to take us there to be safe from those monsters. We'll have to follow his advice, for now..." With that said, she went into the beam as well.

Then, it was Uryuu's turn, as he began to walk up beside Ichigo. "Kurosaki... I know that it seems confusing to you, to all of us... But it will take some time for us to get adapted to that confusion. And all we have to do is to trust that guy, for now. Alright, Kurosaki?" He didn't receive any response from the orange-haired Shinigami. So he left off without hearing an answer.

Everything went so fast right now... First, they were being attacked by some mysterious beings... Then, they were attacked by a guy who wanted Ichigo dead... Then there was another... Then Tokyo has been taken... And now, they were being led by a blond boy to come with him, to where it is safe. He had no other choice. If the others decided to follow him, then he has to too. He turned to look at the stunned humans. "Hey... I'm sorry for what happened lately..." Ichigo said. "But right now... We have to follow him... Alright?"

Keita and Akane still couldn't respond well enough. But the both of them nodded at what Ichigo said, as the three of them all went into the beam of light, where they are taken up to the Ptolemaios.

----------

After everyone went into the beam, they all found themselves inside of a small, white room, with a large circular glass where they are standing now. After being taken there, everyone, except for Naruto, looked around to know where they are. "Huh? What is this place?" asked Renji, wanting to know what that room belongs to.

Naruto turned his head to look at the group behind him, as he smiled. "You'll find out when you get to the control room. Just follow me." he said, as he jumped forward of the floor, as he flew towards the door.

Everyone are surprised to see him do that. "What the...?! You can fly?!" exclaimed Ichigo.

"Wait a minute..." said Uryuu, as he was beginning to learn about how Naruto can fly... And how the gravity seemed much more lighter than before. "The gravity... It's more lighter than before... Wait... Could that mean...?" With every pieces being put together, Uryuu widened his eyes in shock. "Wait a minute! We're in space?!"

"IN SPACE?!" exclaimed the others, with the exception of Rukia and Renji. Although everyone are shocked to know that they are in space, Orihime is the only one who felt surprised and happy to know about it. It seemed like one of her daydreams finally came true, sort of...

Naruto turned himself around, as he continued to float towards the door, as well as smiling at the shocked group. "Hey, looks like some of you already know about this. That's good to know!" he said, as the door was being slid open when he got closer to it. "Follow me, and I'll take you to the control room!" he said, before he went through the opened door and grabbed onto one of the handles, as he was moving to the right side of the others' view.

"... How the hell did we...?!" Ichigo couldn't believe that they are actually in space. It seemed to be more of a shock to learn about it, and to be somehow inside of something that's been traveling through space. Learning about Shinigami is one thing, but learning that they're in space is another. But he decided to shake off the shock, as he decided to follow Naruto. "... They better have a pretty logical explanation..." he said, as he jumped off the floor and followed Naruto's floating.

Uryuu and Orihime both recovered themselves from the shock... Or in Orihime's case, excitement, as they followed Ichigo as well. Rukia and Renji are left standing there, confused about what the others said. "Uh... What's space?" Rukia asked. Renji just shrugged, as he too didn't know what space is. But they decided to follow the others anyway.

The only ones left are Keita and Akane, who both seemed too shock to learn about another unexpected thing. Everything happened so fast... And everything is unexpected to the both of them. "... Keita-kun...? What just happened...?" Akane slowly asked.

"... What kind of world are we living now...?" was all that Keita could say about it.

----------

Eventually, Naruto and the other group went into the control room, after a while of grabbing the handles to move forward. Once there, they eventually met up with all of the others inside of the control room, as they all looked back to see Naruto returning with the Substitute Shinigami and his other friends. Sumeragi smiled to see that Naruto is alright. "I'm glad you're alright, Naruto. We saw it all, and I was pretty amazed that you defeated those Aerogaters with only a single day of training."

Naruto grinned at her comment. "Heh heh... You can thank Tieria-senpai for that. He taught me a lot about how to fight properly and fast. I just learned how to use some of the techniques of my sword." he said. Then, he looked back to the other group. "Well, guys, allow me to introduce you to my friends and the team of the ship, Ptolemaios."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Substitute Shinigami." said Sumeragi, as she bowed to the group. "My name is Sumeragi Lee Noriega. The Tactical Forecaster of my team."

"Mine is Nara Shikamaru. Nice to meet you guys." greeted Shikamaru.

"Hyuuga... Hinata." greeted Hinata.

"My name is simply Karin." greeted Karin.

"Feldt Grace, at your service." greeted Feldt.

"Christina Sierra! Nice to meet you guys!" greeted Christina, with the same enthusiasm in her voice.

"Lichtendahl Tsery. But you can call me Lichty." greeted Lichty.

"I'm Lasse Aeon." greeted Lasse.

"Lockon Stratos. Nice to meet you." greeted Lockon.

"Tieria Erde." greeted Tieria.

"And last, but not least, is the person who is important in the operation that we're going for. She's the one who found you through the splitted Earth." said Sumeragi, as she introduced Mika to the others.

Mika went over to the group, as she stopped herself just when she was in front of Ichigo. She smiled widely to the orange-haired Shinigami, as she bowed to you. "It is a very large honor to have found you and meet you here, oh legendary Substitute Shinigami." she said to him, as he got pretty surprised by that act and comment. "My name is Tadahashi Mika, the Chosen One. And you are one of the heroes that I need to help us protect the world and restore it from its destruction."

"... Protect the world... Restoring it from its destruction...?" Ichigo got curious when she said that. What did she meant about that. "What are you talking about?" Curious to know what she meant, he went his gaze up to the large screen, showing the Earth on the monitor. After seeing it, his eyes were widened in shock. "What the...?! The Earth...?! It's splitted up?!" After hearing what he said, the others decided to follow his gaze, as they all received the same reaction.

"What the...?! But... how can this be...?!" exclaimed Uryuu, shocked to see the Earth being broken into pieces.

"... That is the resulted of the wish that's been granted by our enemies. The Dark Wolves." said Sumeragi, as she received the attention from the others. "You may not know about this, but the Dark Wolves, a dark organization with some powerful members, came after you because you're one of the heroes of the prophecy, and they want you dead, as well as with Naruto here."

"But... But why did they want to kill Kurosaki-kun...?" asked Orihime.

"Like I said, it's because he's one of the heroes of the prophecy, the ones who are chosen to protect the Earth and to restore it from this calamity."

"Heroes... of the prophecy..." Ichigo began to put some thought into it, as he remembered to have heard it before, back in Tokyo. "... That's what that Taishi guy called me... He said that I have a white aura, indicating that I'm one of them... But..." As he said it, he looked back at Keita, who is behind him. "... Is he one of them too?"

Mika silently gasped after hearing it, as the others received a surprised look on their face. "Wait... Him too...?" she said, as she went over to the brown-haired boy, who is surprised to see her going in his way. As she stopped herself, standing in front of Keita, she began to examine him closely, to see if he had any relevance of being one of the heroes of the prophecy. To examine even further, she placed her hand on his chest, surprising him to see her do that.

Akane gasped, when she saw her placing her hand on Keita's chest. Suddenly, she felt a small hint of jealousy in her heart, after seeing it. "H... Hey, what are you...?" She was about to ask her what she was doing, but she trailed off, unable to express her jealousy over to the Chosen.

After a while, Mika pulled her hand away from his chest, her face showing hints of confusion. "Did you find something about him, Mika?" asked Sumeragi.

"Hm... I'm not sure..." she said. "But I can feel a faint power inside of his heart... But it holds only half of the powers of one of the heroes... Meaning that there is another half somewhere else that we have to find..."

"... A... half of the powers...?" Keita didn't understand, as he placed his hand to where she placed hers on before. What did she mean about him having half of those powers. And why is that? Is he just like Ichigo? No, it couldn't be, he thought. It's not possible for him to have those powers, since he is only a normal high school student. Why are he and Akane got somehow mixed up into this?

"Hm..." Sumeragi began to think about it. "... So at any case, we'll have to find the other half as well. If that boy here is one of the heroes of the prophecy, but only has half of the powers of it, then he's not exactly one of them yet."

Mika nodded to the Tactical Forecaster. "Yes. But right now, there is something that we must ask to the Substitute Shinigami first..." she said, as he went back over to Ichigo, standing in front of him. As she looked into his eyes, Ichigo could see that within her eyes is determination. "Substitute Shinigami... You are one of the heroes who are needed to bring peace back to our world... However, it is not our decision to decide that you will help us. It all comes down to you."

"... To me?"

"And therefore, I will ask you this. You have a choice to decline my offer or to accept it. And so I ask you... Will you help us restore peace into the world that we are living in? From the forces who will bring madness to the world and destroy the peace into eternal despair?"

"... You're asking me... to protect the world...?" It all seemed too strange and quick to him. Ichigo was simply a Substitute Shinigami, a human being who was given the powers of a Shinigami by Rukia to protect his family, then later on, his duty was to vanquish Hollows. He didn't expect anything more than that... But now, it was something that he couldn't expect it much, much more. He was asked to be the protector of the world... But it was too quick for him to even understand.

He looked at Rukia next to him, in need of a sure response from his friend. Rukia looked at him to see what he was needing, but she didn't have the opinion to make him choose which. But she did know that it was something that only he can decide. "... It's your choice, Ichigo. Choose what your heart is telling you to do." she said.

"... Rukia..." Ichigo still didn't know which one is right. He then looked at the others, who all gave the same expression at him, telling him to choose it himself. Ichigo was still unsure of it. But he thought about what had happened... All of his life, he suddenly became a Shinigami, chosen to kill Hollows. And when Rukia was taken back to the Soul Society, he felt an extreme need to go off and rescue her for being executed. That wasn't the only thing that he was worrying about before. He also worried about the others. Orihime, Uryuu, Chad, Yoruichi, Ganju, Hanatarou... Everyone who are his allies. He cared for them, and didn't want anything to happen to them.

Also, earlier, Shinji sacrificed himself to have Ichigo and the others escaped from Tokyo... And Chad was taken to the hospital because of his injured arm, and he was taken along with the city by the large energy sphere. He failed to protect them... And he didn't want to lose the others as well.

And so... He made up his mind. "... I'll do it."

Mika smiled at Ichigo's reply, as well as the others around her. She then bowed to the Shinigami one more time. "You have my deepest gratitude, oh great hero... And I assure you that you will not be disappointed."

"Alright!" shouted out Naruto, happy to see that another one of the heroes joined them in their battle against their enemies. "We got another hero by our side now! And next up, we'll just have to take him to a temple somewhere, so he can receive a new power that will help us beat those bastards!"

"... I didn't say that I'll do it now." said Ichigo, as he received a surprised expression from everyone's face, as well as his friends'.

"Wait... What?" asked Mika, confused about why he said that he wasn't going to do it now. "But... But why? Is there something that you are still unsure about?"

"No... But there's still one thing that I have to do." said Ichigo, his eyes showing determination. "I need you guys to take me back to where we left off."

"Back to Earth...?" said Mika. Ichigo nodded to her, as she was surprised to know that he wanted to go back there, where his kind is being hunted by the Aerogaters.

"But... Kurosaki-kun!" said Orihime, worrying about him, when he decided to go back to Earth. "Did you forget about those.. monsters? If you go back there, then you'll...!"

"I know, Inoue." said Ichigo. "But the reason why I wanted to go back there... is to find that Hiyori girl that Shinji wanted me to find. She and the other Vizards can help me gain more power, once I become one of them... Also... They will help me gain power so I can protect you all... This time."

"Kurosaki... Are you sure about this?" asked Uryuu.

He nodded. "Yeah... I'm sure. And I want you guys to stay here, while I go back there to find the Vizards. I don't want any of you to get involved into this again... Not anymore."

"... Kurosaki-kun..." Orihime was worried. She thought that Ichigo will get himself killed by the Aerogaters, as well as the Dark Wolves. She was worried that he wouldn't be strong enough to take care of them alone, and that it will cost his life. But when she saw that he looked determined, and that he wasn't afraid of anything, she decided to let him go. She is still worried, but she trust his wish. "... Alright... Kurosaki-kun..."

Ichigo looked at Orihime and, seeing how she was sitll worried, he smiled at her. "Don't worry. Those guys aren't too tough to beat. And I'll be fine, once I know how everything works. Got me, Inoue?"

Orihime stared at him for a while, and then, she smiled, nodding at him. "Alright... I trust you, Kurosaki-kun..." she said, as Ichigo nodded.

"... You planning on going alone, Strawberry?" said Renji, as he didn't really approve of his decision. "Oh no. I'm coming with you, no matter what!"

Ichigo looked at Renji. "... Renji... Didn't you remember what happened back there?" he asked. "You almost got killed by Carlos... And seeing you injured so badly..."

Renji scoffed. "Ah, that was nothing. He just caught me off guard! The next time I see him, I won't hold back any longer! I'll beat the crap out of him and make him regret trying to kill me before!"

"... Renji..." He could see that the redhead is determined to come along with him. He then respected his decision, as he nodded. "Alright... If you're sure about this, Renji."

Renji smiled at the orange-haired Shinigami. However, he wasn't the only one who wanted to come along, as Rukia stepped in as well to the Substitute Shinigami. "Ichigo, I'll come too."

"Rukia?"

"I'm not gonna let you and Renji have all the excitement for yourselves. If you guys are in danger, then I'll come and save you just in time. I'm not the weak girl that you thought before, Ichigo. I'm a Shinigami, just like you and Renji." she said, as she smiled. "Besides, you did save me once. And it's my turn to save you the next time."

Ichigo looked at Rukia for a while, and then, he nodded as well. "... Thanks, Rukia. I can count on you for that." he said. Rukia nodded in confirmation.

Seeing as they wanted to join Ichigo no matter what, Naruto didn't hesitate to come along as well. "If those two are coming, then I'll come too, to help you out on whatever you're going to do! Because you and I are the heroes of the prophecy!" he said with a grin.

"I'll come along too, just to keep both you and Naruto safe. After all, you two are the heroes of the prophecy." said Lockon, as he stepped in to join them.

"I'll come too! I'll support you guys!" said Karin, as she stepped in as well.

Seeing her in, Naruto looked at Karin with a worried expression on his face. "But Karin, your hand... It's still recovering from the last battle."

"Ah, it's nothing!" said Karin, smiling widely to the Jinchuuriki, as she lifted her bandaged hand up in front of her. "It'll be alright, if I don't do anything reckless. Besides, I'll just support you guys with any medical treatment that I have to keep you guys up to battle. I didn't really help you guys with everything I need, so this time, I will definitely help you guys for your battles, no matter what."

"... Karin..." Naruto didn't expect Karin to be so determined like that. But she meant it, and she wanted to do it for the others. He smiled at her decision, respecting it. "Thanks, Karin..."

Karin nodded, with her smile still intact. "Naruto... This time, I won't hesitate to help you guys. And I won't let any of you get hurt because of me. I'll do whatever I can to help you."

With Naruto and Karin joining Ichigo in his quest, Hinata was beginning to worry once more for the two of them. "Are you sure...? It might be... dangerous, if... if you encounter one of the members... of the Dark Wolves... Are you two sure that you'll be alright...?" she asked.

Naruto looked at the young Hyuuga with a smile, showing that he has confidence in himself, and that he'll be alright. "Ah, don't sweat too much about it, Hinata! I beat those Aerogaters bastards in a nick of time, and I'll probably be a match to one of those members of the organization! With the others around, I think we'll be ok." he said. Karin nodded in agreement.

Hinata could feel his confidence in himself, on in the others. She understood that no matter what, even in the most dangerous situations, Naruto will always get himself through the dangers ahead. Smiling, she nodded to the Jinchuuriki, trusting him to be safe. "I believe in you... Naruto-kun..."

Shikamaru smiled at the determination that Naruto had, as he stepped in and support him some more. "You're pretty much a dumbass. But a dumbass like you will always go through everything while risking his life. So I believe in you too, Naruto. Come back in one piece, along with the others."

Naruto nodded to Shikamaru. Then, he felt a hand being place don his head, as he and Karin turned their heads to see Lockon smiling down at the Jinchuuriki. "Nice determination, Naruto." he said. "Let's just see how much you've grown after a single day of training. I can't wait to see how much you've grown stronger."

Naruto chuckled at the Gundam Meister, as he gave him a thumbs up. "Don't worry. I got a lot of tricks up in my sleeve that you'll be blown away by it!"

Seeing as the others wanted to join him, Ichigo was surprised to have some more support from the people who he didn't know, and didn't hesistate to join him no matter what. Ichigo admired their determination, as well as Rukia and Renji's determination. It was something that he needed, even though that they will risk their lives to fight on. "... Everyone... Thank you..."

"... Alright. If you guys already made your decision together..." started Sumeragi. "... Then we'll take all of you back to where you left off, in Japan. Young man, I trust that you can take care of yourself in your battle against your enemies."

Ichigo nodded in response. "I will. And I have a name, you know. So you don't have to call me with any different names a lot."

Sumeragi smiled at the Shinigami. "Then mind telling us your name, Substitute Shinigami?"

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. The Substitute Shinigami. And I'm the one who's gonna kick those bastards' ass!"

----------

A while has passed. And a large beam of light was struck into the ground, where Ichigo and the others left off. There, Ichigo, Renji, Rukia, Naruto, Karin and Lockon appeared from the dissipating beam, as they are prepared to begin Ichigo's quest: to search for Hiyori and the other Vizards, just as what Shinji told him before. "Alright... Everyone's let's move forward so we can find them." said Ichigo, as he began to move forward through the plains.

Everyone nodded in acknowledgment, as they followed Ichigo in his steps. "Careful, everyone." said Lockon. "Once we're here, there will be a high chance that we'll get ambushed by the Aerogaters. So keep your guard up, and don't hold back on anything, not even once."

"Heh! No problem!" Naruto grinned. "I'm already fired up and ready to go for anything that comes at me! I'll beat the crap out of them anytime!"

As the group walked forward through the plains, Renji was looking around to see if there are any enemies nearby that they could get prepared at all times. Then, when he looked around at what's in front of the group, he noticed something from afar. "What the...?" he said, as he looked closer to know what's coming, but not before he placed his hand on the handle of his sheathed Zanpakuto, preparing to draw it out if it's the enemy.

As everyone noticed Renji's slick action, they all stopped, following his gaze to see a figure from far away. "What did you see, Renji?" asked Rukia, who looked like she was prepared for the worst of it.

"I don't know... But it might be an enemy." he said, still preparing to draw out his Zanpakuto to attack. However, as the figure moved closer, Renji could tell the description of the figure. And it wasn't an Aerogater.

It looked like a young lady with black hair, with the back being tied into two braided pigtails. She was wearing somekind of a school uniform specifically for girls and she also wore a par of glasses for her eyes. She looked like she was limping, as she struck a katana down to support, as she moved forward slowly before poking her katan forward everytime she moved closer. When she was as close to Renji's eyes, he widened his eyes in surprised. She looked like she was beaten up, as blood stain was visible on the side of her face, and a few spots of blood on her uniform. "It's a girl... And she's injured!" he said, alerting everyone to run up to the young lady to see what was wrong with her.

Through her tired eyes, she looked up to see the group running after her, after seeing her condition. Before she could continue any longer, she fell to the ground, as her katana was unable to keep her up any longer. The group arrived, as Ichigo kneed down next to the fallen lady. "Hey! Are you alright, miss?!"

The young lady moved her head up to look at the person who spoke to her. She was surprised to see a person who matched the description that the Vizards were known to search for. "Are you... Kurosaki Ichigo...?" she said weakly.

"What...? How did you know...?" Ichigo was about to ask her, but then, he remembered why she knew him. By the look of her katana, it was no doubt that it is a Zanpakuto. "Hey, you're a Vizard, are you? One of Shinji's comrades?" The young lady nodded slowly, with some of her little strength that she had left.

"My name... is Yadomaru Lisa... And I have come... to warn you about something..."

"Warn me? About what?" Ichigo asked. Then, he looked around themselves, as he noticed that there was no one around, except for the others. "Wait... Weren't Sarugaki Hiyori and the other Vizards coming along with you? Where are they?"

"Hiyori... and the others...!" Lisa let out a painful moan, as she felt the pain coming back after a long while. "They... They...!"

"Where are they...?"

"They've... been captured...!"

**End of chapter**

And... That's it, folks. Nothing more after that. Anyways, here I am again, with a new, slow chapter. Hope you guys like it. I took some time to finish it well, and I'm not so rushed about it. But sadly, today is the last day before my spring break is over... And it's back to school! Nooooo! T-T

Anyways, I'm still waiting for you guys to choose which mangas or animes do you want me to add. And remember, the mangas that you guys choose won't necessarily have a bigger role in the story. But I'll try and make them have a minor role that will help the others out.

... That's funny... The more that I write the story... The more that I think about making a side-story of it... And the more I felt the need to make a lemon fanfic! Oh no! I think I've been leading myself to my uncontrolable imaginations! Where all I do is to do lemons! NOOO!!! ... What do you guys think about that? Terrible? Or horrible?

Anyways, Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	13. Chapter 12: Grave of the Earth God

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashback_

**Jutsu/Technique/Zanpakuto**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes

**Chapter 12:**

**Grave of the Earth God**

Ichigo widened his eyes in shock. He and the others were learning one thing from the fallen black-haired Vizard about where the others are... Captured. "By who...? Who captured them?"

Lisa couldn't able to speak much more of it, as she let out another painful moan from the wounds that she received somewhere before. Her condition was becoming worse from the group's view. "Damn it...!" cursed Renji. "This is bad... If we don't treat her soon, then she'll most likely die!"

"I'll call the Ptolemy." said Lockon. "We'll take her back there so that the medical support can treat her well as soon as possible."

"... No." Karin denied it, as the others all looked at her confusingly. "It'll take too much time to take her there. Even if we're able to make it in time, we'll just spend too much time when the other Vizards are captured. And besides... If they're captured, that means that the one who captured them will do anything to bring them great pain."

"That's true, but..." Lockon didn't deny what Karin said, but they still need to treat her right away, before her life slips away. "Do you have some sort of a healing technique?"

Karin looked up to the Gundam Meister. "Well... Sort of, but..." It was a little too hard to explain the others about her ability, so she pushed it aside and decided to show them instead. She moved her arm in front of the fallen Vizard, as she rolled up her sleeve.

When that happened, Naruto noticed something that put him a slight shock. He saw a few bite marks on her arm, and he didn't understood why. "Karin, when did you...?"

The ex-member of Team Taka ignored Naruto's speaking, as she looked down at the Vizard. "Hey, if you still have any strength left to even lift your head... Then bite my arm and suck it, as hard as you can."

Everyone around her are shocked to hear it. "Huh?! Wait, what?!" exclaimed Renji.

Lisa slowly looked up to Karin, as shocked as with the others. "... What...? But..."

"Don't speak. Just bite it, and you'll see what I mean." Karin ordered.

Lisa hesitated a little. She didn't understand why Karin wanted her to bite her arm. As hard as she could, even. But did she have any choice? She couldn't move anymore, and she had little strength left to live. Will she do it? However, she could see that Karin was determined by that fact for some reason. And so, she decided to do what she told her to do and bit her arm as hard as she could. Karin felt the intense pain down on her arm, when Lisa bit her, as she let out a painful groan, but still resisted the pain that occurred on her arm. Soon then, Lisa felt herself being healed, as her strength was returning, and the pain from her body disappearing. As she let go of Karin's arm, she slowly stood up from the ground, surprising everyone around her. "What...? How...?" she began to ask, as she looked down to her arms, seeing it in perfect shape.

"This... is my ability." said Karin, as she stood up from the ground as well, unrolling her sleeve back. "Whenever someone bites me, anywhere on my body, and suck it, the chakra that I have in me will cure them from their injuries. However, there is a risk. I can only use that ability once per day. And if I use it more than once, it'll be dangerous, and I'll probably die. So this is my only support, and it was worth using it for you."

"... An interesting ability... And yet, a painful one." Lisa said quietly, still looking down at the condition of her body. It was really healed up, as she smiled to the young ninja. "Thank you. I thought I would be done for soon."

"Amazing..." said Renji, who is amazed at the ability that Karin had in her. It would be essential for her to use it during their battle. But since it was only once per day, they have to go along without it.

Ichigo stood up from the ground after a while, as he looked at the fully healed Vizard. "Tell me... The other Vizards are really captured, right?" he asked her. She nodded. "Then who captured them? And why?"

"I don't know of the name of that man." Lisa said. "But he seemed to know you quite well, and yet, he attacked us. If you know him, it was a black man with a tremendous strength."

Ichigo widened his eyes in shock. "A black man...? Then that means that it's...!"

"Ichigo!" said Rukia, upon remembering the small description of the man who captured the other Vizards. "That man must be Carlos La Bestia! The one who we fought before! ... But..." She then looked at Lisa. "... But why did he captured the Vizards?"

"I don't know for sure." the Vizard replied. "But he seemed to be quite interested in Ichigo a lot. So he might be trying to lure him out, for whatever reason. But..." She then looked at the Substitute Shinigami. "Kurosaki Ichigo... If you're going to go for him, then you're foolish enough to try and face him. He defeated the Vizards with only one technique and he managed to take a fatal blow on me, that I was lucky to survive for long to reach you..."

"... So he wants to fight me again, huh?" said Ichigo. "Looks like that one fight isn't enough for him... And he wanted to fight me again one more time, so that we can probably finish this..."

"But it looks like he's really strong now." said Renji to the orange-haired Shinigami. "If he can defeat the Vizards, then he can kill you off single-handedly. I would suggest staying away from that guy, but... You don't want to take that chance from me, huh?"

Ichigo looked at the redhead. "Of course not." he replied. "You saw what happened last time... I lost control of myself and let my Hollow self take over me in the battle, ravaging himself over it everywhere he looked. He couldn't be stop. And I was lucky to be able to be back in control in a nick of time... And that's why I wanted to go find the other Vizards, so that they can help me overcome that monster. If I leave them to die in the hands of that bastard..."

"... Then you'll be forever be in battle with your Hollow self." finished Rukia, as she understood perfectly of what Ichigo's decision was. "We have no other choice. We have to go find the other Vizards and rescue them from Carlos... Where ever he is..."

Lockon nodded. It seemed unavoidable, since one of the members of the Dark Wolves had Ichigo's one chance to be able to control his inner Hollow self. And they had no other choice, if they want Ichigo to be able to fully control himself, even in desperate times. When the Meister looked around them, his eyes widened at a certain figure standing far behind Lisa. "What the...?! Hey, who is that?!" he said, alerting the others to look at where Lockon's gaze went. Ichigo, Renji, Rukia and Lisa all gasped of shock, as they saw a familiar someone standing far away.

It was Carlos La Bestia.

"Damn it! He's here already?!" Renji shouted, as he grabbed onto the handle of his Zanpakuto. However, when he looked closely enough, he saw something different with the black man. "Wait a minute... What happened to...?" The others followed his knowledge, as they all noticed something odd about Carlos.

He seemed to be made of earth, all muddy brown all over, including his clothes. He smirked at the group in front of him. "Do not be alarm. The person that you see is not the real me." said Carlos, who is essential a creature of earth. "This is an earth clone that I have made to follow the Vizard who had managed to escape from my grasp. But it is quite the right decision, as she was leading it to you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"You...!" Ichigo softly growled at the earth clone of one of the members of the Dark Wolves. "Where are you?! And where are the other Vizards?!"

"Do not worry. They are safe in my hold... For now." he said, chuckling softly. "It is a wonderful plan to capture the Vizards just so I can lure you out to where I am."

"Why?! Why do you want to fight me again?! The last battle wasn't enough for you?!

"... Of course it is. And the reason why I want to fight you again... is because I have the knowledge of your other self." When he said that, Ichigo widened his eyes in shock. Seeing his expression, Carlos's clone smirked. "That is right... I know fully well of your Hollow spirit. And you are planning to find the Vizards so you can fully control it without any problem..."

"... You knew... ever since I lost control...!"

"If you want to control your Hollow spirit from letting it take over your body again, then you must find me to rescue the Vizards. Otherwise, they will die... And you will be unable to withstand it any longer... And your spirit shall be crushed." The clone then began to chuckle once more.

Ichigo growled, as Carlos was trying to taunt him with his comments. "Alright...! Where the hell are you, you son of a...?!"

The clone stopped chuckling, as he looked at Ichigo. "Grave of the Earth God. It is located somewhere in the North. It shouldn't be too far, just a couple of hours of walking and running. If you are eager to rescue the Vizards so you can be able to fully control yourself from your Hollow, then come and get me... And we will settle it once more." With that, the clone began to cackle, cackling because he was waiting for Ichigo to come, to face him in a battle that he wanted so much. And so, the clone began to crumble in pieces, as it rejoined the earth once more.

"That bastard...!" Ichigo growled once more. He began to despise Carlos, of what he was planning, and how he taunted him. If that was the case, then he had no other choice, but to face him in the location of where he and the other Vizards are... The Grave of the Earth God.

"So... The Grave of the Earth God, huh?" said Renji. "Sounds like his kind of place to set up a battle that is in his favor, as some of his techniques are earth-based. Do you think that you can win against him, Ichigo?"

"... I don't know... But I'm sure as hell that I'm gonna beat him up for trying to taunt me like that!"

Lockon understood how Ichigo's feeling right now. Him too was feeling annoyed of the black man's taunting, but if that was the only way, then they must go for it. "Alright. Then let's go and find the Grave of the Earth God, where he and the Vizards reside. It might be a trap, but it is a trap worth going through. So let's get going, everyone." he said. Everyone nodded in response. He then looked at the black-haired Vizard. "What about you? Do you want to join us?"

Lisa nodded. "Of course. That man has my fellow comrades. And I can't leave them alone, when their lives are in danger. It is my duty as a fellow comrade of the Vizard."

"Hm... Alright." said Lockon. "Then let's get going! To the Grace of the Earth God!"

"Right!" everyone shouted out, as they began to move forward to the North... except for a single person.

As she felt that there was only one person who is not moving, Karin looked back to see Naruto, who seemed to be staring at her with a hint of worryness in his eyes. "Naruto? Is something wrong?" she asked. But she didn't receive any answer from him. From the looks of it, he must be stunned about something, when he looked at her. "Oh! Is there something wrong with my face? Well, I must be losing my beauty lately, so I'll just take care of it after we're done with everything! So don't worry, Naruto!" she said, as she playfully laughed at the simple error that was on her.

"... Karin..."

"Yes, what is it, Naruto?" she said, continuing to laugh, but only a little.

"... How many times have you been bitten...?"

Hearing it, Karin's laugh immediately faded, and her joyful expression left her face. After hearing it, Karin seemed to understood that Naruto was beginning to worry about her, when he saw the ability that she could do. She didn't want to answer it, to make him worry some more, however, something told her to answer it. "... A lot of times..."

"... And it hurts so much... Right?"

"... Yes..." she replied. However, she began to try to cheer Naruto up, as it wasn't something so dangerous. "But that's ok! I'm used to it, that's all! It's nothing to worry about, since I can only use it once per day! Come on, it'll be fine, when I'm the only one who can fully heal people anytime, anywhere!"

"... Then I want you to stop!" Naruto shouted, which made her surprised to see him shouting at her because of that. "If it really hurts, then you mustn't use it anymore! You'll probably die from all of those bite marks!"

"... But Naruto... Without it, then our friends..."

"They can take care of themselves! They already have what it takes to heal themselves through something! But you mustn't use that ability again! It'll cost your life!"

"... But this is my only healing technique... Without it, then how can I be of use to anyone...?"

Naruto stopped, as he was surprised to hear that from Karin. "... What...?" he said. "Did you say... use...?"

"... Naruto..." Karin said, as she looked away from him. "... The only reason why I decided to join you on this quest... is because I feel like I'm not much of a reliable tool to you and to the others... And I wanted to repay that by using everything I can to help you... I really want to help you through it all, Naruto... I really do..."

"... So... You only thought of yourself as... a tool...?" Naruto received a slow nod from her. "... After all this time... You only thought of yourself as a tool...? As a tool to everyone...? But... But why?! Didn't you even once thought of yourself as a human being?! A real one?! If so, then why are you living your life as a tool to everyone?! And back at Konoha... The reason why you turned yourself in... Was it because you were a useless tool?! How can you think of yourself as nothing but that?! You're a real person, just like the rest of us!"

"... If I'm really a real person, then why the hell is my life a living hell?!?!" Karin shouted, surprising Naruto because of her sudden outburst. She then looked at the Jinchuuriki with a mixture of anger and sadness in her expression. "My life is never the same as with all the others! I went through it only to see the events that bring pain in my heart and soul! My mother and father were murdered, when I was still just a young child! I was used as a healing tool for anyone to bite me to heal themselves! No one respected me nor cared about me, not even Sasuke, Suigetsu or Juugo! I was a living tool to them!"

"... Karin..."

"And besides... Besides, I...!" Her voice was starting to break down, as tears began to form in her eyes, glittering within the light that shines onto the Earth. "... I once wished that I wanted to live the rest of my life as a normal human being... Someone who isn't a tool to everyone and someone who is only useful for personal purpose...! But my wish was never realized... And after 8 years, I am still a tool to them...! Nothing changed...! And it will never be changed...! Not ever..." She then closed her eyes tight enough, so that the tears won't fall from her face. She had experienced so much pain during the past... And she will experienced it once more in the near future... She had no hopes of becoming a normal human being that she had deserved to be.

"... Karin..." Naruto could understand her sadness. She went through all of her life, just to be known as a tool, a tool of war. A tool who is never acknowledged by anyone. He couldn't stand seeing her like this, as a tool who will never experience a real life. He wanted to change that. And he wanted to make her feel better about herself... So that she won't ever fel the same pain again... "Karin... You're not a tool... You're not useless too..." he said, as he walked forward to the weeping ninja, as he cupped her face with one of his hands. "... You're a real human being, just like us... And you're living as one too... So don't be sad anymore... Because I care about you... And about everyone else..."

Karin slowly opened her eyes, as a drop of tear fell from each of her eyes. She could see through the blurry sight that Naruto really cared about her. And he didn't want to see her like this, not when she had experienced a larger pain from before. After seeing him, she smiled a little. "... This is... the first time that anyone has ever care about me... And you're the first one who did..."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah... It's because you're my comrade, a ninja who stands to fight with his allies. And you're standing up for an injured person, and helped her out. That is what a true comrade is. And a true comrade... is a true human being."

"... Naruto..." She could feel her heart being warmed up by his words. It was just like before, back in their world. He was the first one who ever cheered her up like that... And he was also the first to be able to care for her. With that, she took of her glasses, as she wiped off the tears from her eyes and from her face, before putting her glasses back on her face. "... You really are something, Naruto... And I thank you for that..."

Naruto smiled. "I'm glad... that I can help you through everything you went through..."

She nodded. Then, she looked back to see the others moving a little far away from them. "Well, now that's done... Let's catch up with the others. I think we're gonna waste their time, if they find us far away from them."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's get going, Karin!" he said, as he ran to catch up with the group.

"Right!" she nodded, as she followed the Jinchuuriki. She wasn't afraid and useless anymore. With him around, she'll be able to overcome anything... Along with her friends that she had made.

----------

Somewhere inside of a certain place, there existed a large dome, where one of the members of the Dark Wolves, Carlos La Bestia, was standing in, waiting for a certain Shinigami to come and fight him again, at anytime. He was smirking at how much the time has passed, and it won't be long enough for him to come and face him. "Heh heh heh... Soon, Kurosaki Ichigo will come and try to rescue the Vizards... But will he be able to defeat me this time? Only time will tell..." said Carlos, chuckling quite sinisterly.

"Oh, for shit's sake! Would you just stop saying that every time, you little shithead?!" Hearing that voice, Carlos turned his eyes to the far right, still aware of the presence of a short, blond-haired girl from behind. Her hair had a pair of stubby pigtails on each side, and that she had a pair of brown eyes. She was seen being bind around the body by a petrified mud, so the only clothing that is visible are the top clothing from the top of the shoulders to the bottom of it, which can be seen as a red jogging jacket, as well as a pair of red jogging pants and sandals. She also seemed to have a long fang from the bottom teeth, which was popped out of the left side of her mouth.

Carlos could hear her growling from behind. "Hmph... Why don't you just calm down and wait for Kurosaki Ichigo to come? Or else, I may petrify you as well, so you can join along with your comrades next to you."

The short Vizard continued to growl at the black member of the Dark Wolves, even though his warning was alarming. Next to each side of her, where she sat there, there are her comrades, petrified by an attack that Carlos had done to them. He seemed to keep the short Vizard breathing and moving, although he did bind her body up with one of his technique. The short Vizard scoffed. "Try what you want with me, asshole! This some kind of petrified mud won't hold me back for long! You forgot that I'm also a very strong Vizard!" she said, as she began to try and break herself free from what was binding her. However, it seemed to be still in place, even with all of her strength into her body.

"... Don't try and hurt yourself, Sarugaki Hiyori." said Carlos, his back still facing the short Vizard. "My petrified mud cannot be broken. If you put too much stress on your body, you'll only break your bones."

"Hah! Who cares about that, damn it?!" shouted Hiyori, who seemed to be struggling a little more less, but still remaining fighting into the bind. "You played a very shitty trick on us before and here we are! All trapped in that mud of yours! You seemed kinda weak to use that shit of a technique! That's some real shitty trick!"

"... I only used that technique to put a stop on all of you. And I let you breathe still, since it will make Ichigo think that he still hs a chance to rescue you." said Carlos. "And besides, I won't be using that technique again, for a month. So the battle between Ichigo and me will be fair."

"You talk high and mighty, but I can still see that you're more of a weak shit! You couldn't stand a damn chance against that bastard! You'll just get yourself killed just by making yourself superior through your lousy and crappy talks, shithead! Hah hah hah!" Hiyori laughed at how she thought that Carlos couldn't stand a chance against Ichigo, since she was sure that he was already that strong to defeat him.

And with that, Carlos turned around to face the short Vizard. As she continued to laugh, he slowly began to walk towards her in a cold matter. And when he was closer to her, as she was still laughing, he immediately kicked her to the side of her head, ceasing her from laughing any longer. "Urgh...!" she groaned. However, he wasn't done yet, as he then kicked her chin, making her move her head back. And then, he grabbed onto the back of her head and pulled it quick to him, before he made a devastating knee attack to her face, which was strong enough to make her fall back to the ground, groaning in pain.

"... You really are an irritating brat, aren't you?" Carlos coldly said. "It would be a pleasure for me to kill you slow and painfully... It was a mistake to leave you unpetrified and to let you mock me like that..."

Hiyori slowly moved her head up to look at him, groaning slowly in pain, but still retaining her aggressive attitude. "You... asshole...!"

"... I would just simply kill you here and now... However, it would be a waste of time, since it will make Ichigo think that I kill all of you." he said, as he turned back around and moved forward from the fallen Hiyori. "I'll just wait until he comes and fight me... But if he happens to be defeated by me... Then I'll kill you with much pleasure in my hands."

"... Son of a... rotten bitch...!" Hiyori groaned, before she let herself go, as her head fell back to the ground.

After hearing only rough breathing from the short Vizard, he smirked a little. But what's more, the time has almost come, as he felt the same energy from before. "There he is... He finally comes, after a few hours... And soon, he'll be mine..." he said. "But... it would be unfair that he'll be fighting with a group with him... So the first trap will be set..."

As he said that, suddenly, two figures appeared in front of them, hiding their appearance in the darkness. "... You called for us, master?" said the two voices, who both sounded like females.

"Yes..." he replied. "Kurosaki Ichigo and the others will come soon... And one of them will most likely fall into the first trap, before he could have time to react... But if he happens to survive from the death fall... I want you two to kill him. No hesitation."

"... Understood, master." the two female figures said, as they both disappeared into the darkness.

Carlos smirked, as the time has almost come. "Soon, Ichigo... Soon..."

----------

After many hours of going to the North, to find the Grave of the Earth God, the group had reached the area with a large cave, which didn't seemed to be some sort of a graveyard, just as what they thought. "So... This is it?" asked Ichigo, unsure if it was really the place.

"Well, we went completely to the North and we ended up at this cave, so... This must be it. This must be the Grave of the Earth God." said Renji, who was also unsure if that was the place, but it would be the most likely place, since it was a dead end for all of them.

Naruto nodded, as he moved on forward to the entrance of the cave. "Right! If that guy is in there, then we have no other time to lose! We have to take care of him as soon as possible, before he does something terrible to the other Vizards!"

Lisa nodded. "He caught me off-guard before... But I won't fall back. He is indeed a worthy, and yet, dangerous threat. And I will hold nothing back against him. I'll use whatever I can to rescue my comrades."

"Then let's get going and settle this with him." said Lockon, as he moved on forward as well with Naruto. "But be ready for anything. He might be as dangerous as our enemies from before. It won't be an easy and short battle."

Everyone nodded, as they followed the other two, with the exception of Rukia. She did walk a little, but then, she stopped for a while and looked up to the blood red sky. Looking up at it, it seemed like it was some sort of a bloodshed that occurred in a battle. Looking at it... It seemed like a devastating war. A war with millions of blood shedding, and deaths. And endless war that could never be stopped... "... Can we really put an end to it...?" she wondered. She couldn't be able to receive any answers, if the battle was just the beginning. So she resumed walking forward with the group.

However, suddenly, as she took another step, she felt that the ground that she was standing seemed... lighter than before. "... What?" She looked down to the ground that she was standing, wondering what was wrong.

The group soon stopped to turn around to see Rukia, a little far away from the group. "Hey, Rukia! What's wrong?" asked Ichigo, wondering why she stopped. Before Rukia had any time to reply, suddenly, the ground below of her suddenly opened down, a meter and a half from each side of the square hole from the center. As she realized it, she felt herself beginning to fall down. Ichigo and the others widened their eyes to witness her falling. "RUKIA!!!"

She was too late to react. She felt herself falling down the hole, unable to move with her still in the air. As her body was about to be swallowed into the whole, she lifted her arm up to try and grab onto something. However, it was too far, and she was helpless to do anything at all, as she screamed out.

However, suddenly, a hand grabbed onto her arm, surprising her, as she looked up to see who it was. It was Naruto, who suddenly jumped through the hole, just in time to grab her arm. "Naruto?!" she shouted to him.

"Hang on!" he shouted, as he slowly turned around to the sky, as he quickly threw her up above, hard enough for her to reach up the surface. As she got thrown up there, the others were just in time to move themselves close to the hole, where Rukia was flying up from it. Renji quickly grabbed her just in time so that she won't fall once more. "H-hey! You alright?!" he asked for her condition.

Looking at Renji, she nodded in response. However, she quickly remembered that Naruto was still inside of the trap hole, as she looked down at it. "No! Naruto!" she cried out to him.

Naruto was seen falling down through the hole, instead of her, as he was unable to do anything to save himself. And with that, the ground of the trap slowly started to close up, trapping Naruto inside of the hole.

"NARUTO!!!" Karin shouted out to him, as she reached out her hand to him, while the trap was still closing.

And it was too late. It closed shut, trapping Naruto inside, where he was falling to his doom.

"No! This can't be!" shouted Ichigo, as he kneed to the ground and slammed his fist at it, attempting to open it down once more. However, after a few more punching, where the sound was hollowed in the inside, the next punch that came after them only made a soft and thump sound, as the ground seemed to be back into its original form.

"No...! No...!!" Karin whimpered, as she shook her head a few times, unable to cope that Naruto was falling to his death. She kneed down to the ground next to Ichigo, as she began to dig into the ground with her hands, attempting to go in deep enough to save him. "He can't die...! He just can't...!"

"A trap door..." said Lisa, looking down at the original form of the ground. "... Looks like he was expecting us... And that guy sacrificed himself to save her..."

"Is he... Is he...? Renji began to ask, as he let Rukia down from his arms, as the two of them both looked down at the ground.

"No..! He can't die...! He just can't die! I can't let that from happening!" Karin said, as she continued to dig into the ground, her fingers bleeding from digging too much. But she didn't care. She wanted to save Naruto from his doom. He was the first one who cared for her... And with him gone, what else would she do with everything without him?

"... He's not going to die." concluded Lockon, as he turned back around to walk back towards the entrance of the cave.

Renji looked at the Meister, confused about what he meant about that. "... How did you know?" he asked.

Lockon stopped for a while, as he answered the redhead Shinigami's question. "... Because I already know him, even with a quick glance. I can see that he's determined to live on, and he wasn't gonna let a trap like that killing him so easily. So I already know him well, and I know that he'll find a way to stop himself from going to his death. Because still, he has a promise to keep, and to realize. And he wasn't to let any death stand in his way into realizing it." he said. As he was done with it, he continued to move forward.

Renji was sitll unsure about what the Meister said about, but if he was saying that Naruto can still live on, then he will try and bring up hope for that to happen. With a nod, he followed him. Lisa soon joined him, as soon as she heard what the Meister said about Naruto. Rukia was about to join them, but first, she looked back at the two kneed people. "... I'm sorry..." she apologized. "If I had realize that trap sooner... Maybe he wouldn't have to sacrifice himself to save me... I'm really sorry, you two..."

"... Rukia." said Ichigo suddenly, as he slowly stood up from the ground, before looking at the young Shinigami. "... It's not your fault. None of us knew about that trap. And Naruto's bravery saved you from being killed. And if what Stratos said is true... Then we'll ust have to faith on him." With that, he turned himself around to walk forward to the cave. "... Let's hope for his survival, Rukia..."

Rukia just watched him walking away from the supposed trap. Ichigo was right. Naruto isn't the kind of guy to let himself be killed by that trap. He looked so determined... So determined to accomplish a goal of a lifetime. And he won't let death stand in his way. Rukia then looked back down to the ninja, as she seemed to stop digging some more. "... Karin..."

Kairn didn't answer right away, as she continued to look down to the ground. "... Please be safe... Naruto..." she quietly said, hoping for Naruto's survival. She then stood up and looked at Rukia, nodding to her that it is alright. The Shinigami nodded in response, as the two of them walked up to join the others into the cave in front of them...

----------

"AAAAHHH!!!" cried out Naruto, as he was falling down from the hole that he was pulling Rukia out of. He sacrificed himself so that he won't let another friend of his be killed by that sort of thing. But that also meant that he was giving away his life, as he was falling to his death.

_'So... This is it, huh...? I'm going to die here, huh...?' _he thought, believing that it was the end of him. _'... I had a great life... Great friends... And great goal... And here I am, going to die by falling into this hole... I'm dying... Dying...' _Naruto slowly closed his eyes, as he was waiting for his death to come into him. He had a great time... But now, it was the time for him to go to the afterlife, to a place where dead souls lived...

However, the thought of Sasuke suddenly flashed into his mind, as he quickly opened his eyes. _'... Sasuke...' _he thought. Then, his mind flashed again, as it showed the image of Sakura as well. _'... Sakura-chan...' _The two friends who he had thought to be able to trust with... And who suddenly betrayed him... His promise... The promise of the lifetime... Is he really going to give that up?

_'... No... No, I won't die! I won't die until I realize that promise! The promise I made for my friend! Sakura-chan... And Sasuke...! I won't die!'_ With that, Naruto was able to have confidence in himself, as he quickly pulled out his special kunai from his pouch, before it turned into a blade of fire. He then stabbed the sword into the wall closest to him, as it trailed through it, seemingly slowing down his fall. However, it was still fast enough for him to fall to his death. "Not enough...! Still not enough...! But I WON'T DIE!!!" he shouted, as chakra was beginning to form into his feet, as he moved it up and trailed it onto the wall that he was clinging onto, trying hard to stop himself from falling with the combination of his sword and his chakra.

"Come on...! Don't fail me now!" Naruto shouted out once more, putting faith into his progress, as his fall was beginning to grow slower and slower. And then, finally, after a while, he was able to stop himself from falling faster. With that, he sighed out of relief. "Whew... I'm saved..." he said. He then looked down below of him and, to his surprise, by looking down there, there was a floor just a little more further down ahead, as well as the hole being at his reach. "... Well... It's too close to comfort, I guess..." he said, chuckling slightly.

Deciding that it is safe to drop down from there, he pulled his sword out of the wall, as he fell down towards the ground below of him. He then landed safely onto it, as he began to look around to inspect the place. Nothing is special inside of that room, since it was rather large, and there was a few rocks and boulders standing around the ground. "Huh... This looks suspicious... But I guess I'll have to look around for an exit." he said, as he began to walk forward in search for an exit.

However... Suddenly...

"My, my. He is rather lucky to have survive that trap." He suddenly heard a female voice from somewhere, as he got alerted and looked around himself for the voice, his hand already holding his flamable sword.

"What the...?! Hey, who is it?!"

"Yes, yes. Very lucky. Almost no one had survived from that trap, without a proper knowledge. That trap seemed to be a child's play for him." said another female voice, different from the one from before.

"Who are you two?! Are you friends?! Or foes?!" Naruto shouted out to the mysterious two female voices.

"But now, it's the time for us to finish the job for that trap. Shall we, little sister?"

"Let's, big sister."

Suddenly, Naruto heard a large sound of the piercing wind, as he quickly turned himself around, to see a large, spiraling attack coming towards him at full speed. "Holy...!" He had enough time to react, as he quickly jumped back from the attack, before it could get to him, causing it to strike onto the ground. As he landed on the ground, far away from it, its spiraling movement was so fast, that it caused smokes to appear around the area. Naruto shielded his eyes, so that the dust couldn't get to his eyes.

After a while, the smoke began to clear. And as Naruto moved his arm away from his eyes, he gasped, as he saw the appearance of the two figures standing in front of him.

They are two black ladies with the same purple hair, although one of them has a long one that stopped right to her waist, as the other had also a long hair, but a little shorter than the other. Her hair was all braided up with each and every numbers of hair strings, as they are all tied to the back. The long hair female has a pair of dark blue eyes, while the other has a pair of golden yellow eyes. They both wore the same clothes and armors. Dark purple tank top with a pair of brown pants, as well as armors for the shoulders, hands and legs. However, they each wore their triplets of armors for one side. The long hair lady had her armor to her left side, with large claws on her armor glove. The braided hair lady had the opposite side, with the same claws as her. And... on the side note, they got smiliar pair of D-cup breasts.

Naruto widened his eyes in surprise to see them appearing all of the sudden. "What the...? Who are you two...?"

The two ladies smiled at the blond Jinchuuriki. "My name is Mona El Rapido." said the long hair lady.

"And I am Lisa La Sirena." said the braided hair lady.

"And we are both sent by our master to kill you, if you survive from the trap." they both said at the same time.

"Master...?" Naruto began to wonder what they meant, however, after a while, he realized what they actually meant. "I see... So you two are working for Carlos, huh? Then that means you two are enemies..."

Mona, upon looking at Naruto closely, widened her eyes in surprise, as she remembered who he is. "Oh? Well, that is a surprise... You are one of the heroes of the prophecy, correct?" she asked, smirking.

Lisa, upon hearing what her sister said, gasped out of surprise. "Oh yes! It is him! Uzumaki Naruto, the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf! Oh yeah! We're so lucky to have caught him in that trap!" she said, giggling quite cutely.

Naruto groaned softly, as he was already into his fighting position against the two sisters. "If you two are going to kill me, then I'm afraid that's not gonna happen! I still got a job to do and to accomplish!"

"Well, well... A resisting one, hm?" Mona chuckled. "Then we won't hold back... My little sister and I are masters of the assassination arts... But in a whole, different way. And just because you're a ninja doesn't mean that you can expect a surprise attack from our assassination arts."

"Heh heh heh..." Lisa chuckled as well. "Such a cute boy... Too bad that we have to waste him. By ripping his innocent soul apart, painfully and slowly! Hah hah hah!"

"Don't you look down on me, just because I'm a ninja who is way out of your league! I'm gonna pound you two to the ground, no matter what it takes!" Naruto shouted, as he was already prepared to fight.

"Then we won't hold back too..." Mona smirked. "Are you ready, little sister?"

"Ready, big sister!" Lisa shouted.

"Prepare to face the mighty sisters' wrath!" they both shouted, as they charged at Naruto at full speed, with their claws ready to slive him open. The two of them both laughed together at the joy of killing one of the heroes of the prophecy.

"I won't die! Not until I realize my promise!"

The battle has commence... And will Naruto be able to defeat the two deadly sisters?

**End of chapter**

Well, I'm done now. Hey, it's me, with a new chapter. Well, this is getting interesting, as this chapter and a few more of those will show out a big action scene. I'm getting excited just thinking about it and writing about it. Well, I sure hope I'm done with it as soon as possible, just with school and all...

Oh yeah. Also, this chapter seemed to show some NaruKarin moments... Wow... I am pretty sorry for Karin, ever since she was impaled by Sasuke back in a few chapters. Well... Um... Sorry about the NaruKarin moment. But I assure you! It'll still be NaruSaku still! This is just a friendship moment between those two!

Also, I put some thought about something... Lately, I've been daydreaming about an unexpected thing between some pairings in the fic. You know... The lemon like... Yes. I know. Dirty. But still! I just can't get it off of my mind... And it's really starting to bug me. So! Until further notice, I might make a side-fic that will show each pairings of this story and how their adventures happened! Oh, and they'll be a lot of different pairings... I assure you... But until then, wait until further notice.

Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	14. Chapter 13: The Quick and the Siren

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashback_

**Jutsu/Technique/Zanpakuto**

Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes... But I do own the OCs.

**Chapter 13:**

**The Quick and the Siren**

"I won't die! Not until I realize my promise!" shouted the blond Jinchuuriki, as he prepared himself to fight against the two charging sisters, with their individual claws ready to strike him down at any time.

Mona El Rapido and Lisa La Sirena are servants for their master, Carlos. They are ordered to take care of the one who survived from the trap. They are charging at Naruto in a quick speed, as they both laughed at the joy that they will bring by slaughtering the hero of the prophecy. However, just as they got closer to the Jinchuuriki, they suddenly disappeared, surprising Naruto by their speed. "Fast!" he shouted.

He had no time to react, as Mona suddenly appeared behind him. "Behind you, hero." she said. Naruto quickly turned around to see her, but he suddenly found himself blocking her claw attack, just his luck. Mona quickly made a few swift attacks on the Jinchuuriki, in which he blocked them just in time, but surprised at how fast her attacks are.

_'She's fast...! I can barely block any of them!' _he thought, as he continued to block her quick strikes for a few more times. But in the next attack, he saw her preparing preparing to attack him down, building up her strength for a heavy claw attack. He found the opening. "You're open!" Naruto shouted, as he quickly swung his sword at the long hair lady. However, she disappeared before she could attack him and before he could touch her. "She dodged it...!"

"Peek-a-boo!" Naruto heard another voice from behind, which belongs to Lisa. Naruto quickly turned around to face her, but she already thrust her claws towards him. He quickly blocked it, but suddenly, he was being slid back away from her after that block. When he stopped, Naruto was surprised. _'Whoa...! This girl's attack is powerful...!' _he thought. Right after his thought, he noticed Lisa lunging at her, with her claws ready to strike him down to the ground. He quickly jumped away from her attack point, as she slammed her claws to the ground, causing it to break apart into pieces around her. As Naruto landed to the ground, he was surprised at how powerful her attack was on the ground. "So powerful...! I can't believe it!"

Lisa stood up from the attack that she had just made, as Mona quickly appeared next to her. The long hair female chuckled. "Surprise, Naruto, darling? You don't think that just because we're servants of our master doesn't mean that we're as strong as him, do you?" she said.

"Hah hah! You're dead wrong, cutie pie!" Lisa chuckled. "We're at the exact same level as our master! But we are only worthy of the title of henchmen of the Dark Wolves! You just underestimate us because of that!"

"... I see." Naruto said. "So there's no difference in power between you two and Carlos, huh? That means I can't go easy on you two, not after those first attacks..." Those two are strong. And it would take a while for Naruto to take care of them as soon as possible, just to survive from their twin assault. But after he analyzed their attacks, they possessed different qualities in them. _'That Mona girl is pretty fast... And her attacks aren't something to look down on. I could barely block her attacks, if I wasn't so careless because of what they look... And that Lisa girl is pretty powerful... Her attacks are a little slower than Mona's, but they can pack a huge punch on me, if I'm not careful enough. If I underestimate them any further... I'll be a goner.' _he thought, as he understood the sisters' different attack strength and speed.

"So, "hero"..." started Mona, as she smirked at the Jinchuuriki. "... Are you ready for round two?"

"Yeah! Are you ready?" said Lisa, as she giggled once more. "Now you see that you won't underestimate us any longer, just because we're only servants or girls!"

"... Hmph. Don't you worry." said Naruto, as he moved his sword in front of him. "I won't hold anything back against you, now that I know how tough you two are! So I'm gonna give out everything I got to defeat you!" As he said that, his sword began to glow red, as he began to channel his energy into it. The two sisters were surprised at the sword's glowing. And with that, Naruto pulled his sword back and thrust it hard enough to unleash a piercing energy of fire at them. "**Fire Spear!**" he shouted the name of the attack.

As the piercing energy was going straight to the two sisters, they immediately disappeared form the attack range, as it hit straight to the wall from far away. Naruto got alerted, when they dodged the attack, as he looked around to see where they are. However, immediately, Mona appeared behind him, without him noticing her presence, as she grabbed the collar of his jacket with one hand and grabbed the bottom of the jacket with it other, as she began to spin him around along with her. "You're too slow!" she shouted, as she then threw Naruto up diagonally to the air.

"Ngh...!!" Naruto felt himself being thrown up to the air hard.

As he was flying up high enough, Lisa suddenly appeared above him, as she was prepared to deliver a heel attack to send him back down to the ground. "Take this!" she shouted, as she threw her heel down to Naruto, hitting him hard on the back of his head. He groaned loudly, as the back of his head was been attack heavily, as he was sent back down towards the ground. However, Lisa wasn't finished with him yet, as she quickly dived down towards him to deliver a heavy claw attack, when he reaches the ground. "Have another taste of this, cutie boy!" she shouted, prepared to slam her claws down on the fallen ninja.

However, he quickly recovered from the last attack, as he landed safely to the ground, and quickly jumped back before her claws could slam into him, and instead, she hit the ground, breaking it apart around her. She quickly stood up from her crouching position then, as she looked to see the Jinchuuriki landing far away from her. "Damn it... I missed..." she said, frowning a little.

Naruto had no time to waste, as he quickly formed a handseal to call out a Jutsu. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" he shouted, as a puff of smoke suddenly appeared around him. Within the smoke, numerous of clones appeared out of it, as they all charged at the braided hair female with their swords ready.

Seeing a lot of them, she could simply smirk. "Is that all you've got, hun?!" she said, as she quickly struck the ground next to her with her claws, as she pulled it up front, before a very large boulder was pulling out from the ground. "**Ground Breaker!**" she shouted the name of the technique, as the boulder was falling straight to the charging clones.

Some of the clones were unlucky to see it coming, as they were crushed by it, as it landed down on the ground. The others, however, dodged it just in time, as they all jumped out of the way of the attack. However, they didn't notice that the other sister was just above them, before it was too late. "Up here!" she said, making the clones to look up to see her. Mona was already preparing for an attack, as she quickly thrust her claws down towards the clones, shooting out numerous of purple energy rain. "**Raining Claws!**" she shouted the name of the technique, as it got all of the clones in just one strike, as they all poofed up into smokes.

The only ones who are standing are Naruto, with his two clones standing each of his side, as they are facing the large boulder that is blocking their view of Lisa. Naruto was sure that she was going to break through the boulder to attack them. "Anytime, now..." he said, waiting patiently for the little sister to come.

Just as he expected, Lisa quickly went through the boulder, breaking apart with her claws, as she was lunging forward to Naruto and his two clones. "Got you now!" she said, smiling.

However, the clone from Naruto's right side quickly got in front of them, as he swung his sword to create a large wave of fire towards the lunging enemy. "**Fire Wave!**" he shouted the name of the attack.

Lisa noticed it, as she quickly stopped and landed on the ground, before jumping up to avoid the large fire wave. She smiled, as she had found an opening to attack the defenseless clone. "Hah! Too bad!" she shouted, as she dived down towards the clone, before slicing him up in two with her claws, as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Now... Your turn, darling!" she said, as she looked up to Naruto and his last clone. However, she widened her eyes, as she saw him preparing for an unexpected attack.

With his left hand out, his clone from the left was moving his hands in a spiraling motion above it, creating a sphere of spiraling energy on it. "You're wide open!" Naruto shouted, as the preparations were done, as the clone disappeared from him. He quickly charged towards Lisa, with his **Rasengan **ready to thrust into her. "**Rasengan!**" he shouted, thrusting the attack at her.

However, she guarded herself from the attack with her armored glove and claws, as it struck against it and she was struggling to stand against the ferocious attack of the technique. She thought that it seemed powerful enough to match her strength, however, it seemed weak, as she smirked. "Too weak to stand up against me!" she shouted, as she pushed off the technique with a quick swing of her arm, disintegrating it from its attack form.

Naruto was shocked, as the **Rasengan **was easily destroyed, and he was left falling forward to the enemy. "The **Rasengan**...! It's...!" He was too stunned to say anything about it. Also, he saw one of Lisa's fist being thrusting at him, as it hit him by the chin, sending him flying back up by the massive strength of her uppercut. "Ngh...!!"

"Big sister! Finish him off!" shouted Lisa to her sister up in the air.

Just in time, Mona quickly appeared above Naruto, just like with the other clones. "It's over for you, pretty boy!" she said, as, when Naruto was closer to her, she quickly grabbed his legs with her arms, as she moved them to her face, as well as wrapping her legs around his body, trapping him into a body-lock. With that, the two of them began to dive down towards the ground, as they spun themselves around faster and faster, just fast enough to see only a blur within the spin. "**Tornado Slam!**" she shouted, as they got closer and closer to the ground, before they slammed themselves down on it, hard enough to let out a large fog of dirt around them. And then, she jumped off from the crashing point, as she landed a little far away from it, with her little sister joining up with her after wards. They both smirked, as they looked at the foggy earth, where Naruto was crashed onto the ground. "Hmph... He's no hero. He's not even worth a challenge to us."

Lisa nodded, as the fog began to clear to see Naruto, lying down on the crushed ground with his stomach down. It didn't seem that he is moving at all. "Well, I was hoping that he could be my playmate for years to come... But, orders are orders. You can't do much with them around." she said, as she playfully shrugged. "He is kind of a wimp, actually. So he won't do for me. Heh heh!"

She giggled at the thought of Naruto being too weak compared to them. It was an easy victory for the two sisters. However, before they could celebrate more, Naruto suddenly moved a little, surprising them at the sight of him moving, even after the attack that Mona had just made. He slowly placed his hands down to the ground, as he began to pull himself up from it. As he was struggling to get up, he looked up at the two sisters with a grin on his face. "Heh... I'm not done yet...!"

"... Interesting..." said Mona. "... He's a lot tougher than he looks. He is able to withstand a powerful blow that I have made on him. Looks like he won't be an opponent who can go down that easily..."

"Hmph! Yeah, that's right." said Lisa, smirking at the downed Jinchuuriki. "But that doesn't mean that he can put up much of a fight against us. If he's still standing, we'll just have to do it again, until he's finally dead."

As Naruto stood up from the ground where he crashed onto, as he was able to have some knowledge about the sisters' individual fighting style, but still too slow to even counter them well. "I let my guard down... But this time, I'm gonna give out all I got now! I won't hold anything back any longer!"

"Are you sure about yourself, darling?" asked Mona, who believed that nothing he would do will scratch neither of them. "Look at you. You already received numerous blows in such a short time, while you didn't even land a hit on one of us. Do you really believe that you can scratch any of us with such a slow agility?"

"No... But I can, if I try! Don't hold back on me just because I'm not at the same level as you two!"

Lisa chuckled at the young Jinchuuriki, at how he believed that he was tougher than that, and can withstand any of the attacks that they could land on him. "What a joke... Are you really that serious, hunny? If you're truly ready to go all out, then how come you were true in your words the first time? I think you're bluffing about this..."

"Then prove it to me. Try and prove that all I'm saying is a bluff. But believe me. I'm always serious about fighting like this."

"... Hmph." Lisa scoffed a little. "You're good at taunting... But taunting like this won't get you anywhere. I'll crush that little smile of yours before I can crush your entire body with my strength! And I knopw just the way to do that..." As she said that, a sinister smirk appeared on her face, as she turned to look at her sister. "Shall I, big sister?"

Mona nodded. "Go for it, little sister."

With a returning nod from the little sister, she moved her armored hand up to her face, as she was preparing some kind of an attack against the blond Jinchuuriki. The claws on her gauntlet was starting to glow purple, as she was channeling her energy into it, to unleash a powerful attack. "Try this one for size, cutie boy!" she shouted, as she lifted her claws up before slamming it to the ground in front of her, as a series of large stalagmites were thrust up straight to the Jinchuuriki. "**Crushing Stalagmite!**"

"Whoa!" Naruto was surprised, as numerous of stalagmites, one by one, were thrusting up in a large line straight to him. To avoid getting hit by it, Naruto jumped off from the ground high enough so even the longest of stalagmites couldn't reach him.

However, Mona suddenly appeared behind him, preparing for a surprise attack. "Another mistake in your part." she said, surprising Naruto, as he was about to turn around to face her. However, she quickly lifted her legs up and kicked him off before he could have the chance to turn around, pushing him diagonally down towards her sister.

Lisa was already prepared, as her claws were ready to strike him whenever he is closer at the right moment. "Still think that you're still serious?!" she shouted at him.

Naruto quickly recovered from the kick to the back, as he quickly formed a cross handseal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" he shouted, as numerous of clones appeared in front of him, forming a large human shield to try and guard him from the attack.

"Hah! Your clones can't save you like that! I can slice through them all no problem!" Lisa shouted, as she thrust her claws at the clones, impaling them through the center. However, the clones from all around had managed to hold her down, as all of them hold her arms, legs and body to make her immobilize from making any more actions. "Trapped...?!"

"Got ya!" shouted the real Naruto, as Lisa looked up in front of her to see him preparing to ram his fist towards her. She gasped out of surprise, as Naruto got closer to her from the air. However, he was suddenly kicked to the side by the older sister, who appeared just in time to protect her little sister from being hit. Naruto was sent flying to the side before regaining his balance and landed on the ground away from the two. "Damn it...! So close...!"

The little sister had enough time to shake the clones off of her arms, before spinning around fast enough to get all of the others to get off of her, as they all got either slammed to the wall far away or fell to the ground hard enought o make them disappear from the battle. "You ok, sister?" asked Mona, as she landed on the ground after her attack.

"Yeah. Thanks." she answered, giving her older sister a smile.

She smiled back, before he turned her head to face Naruto again, her expression showing that she wasn't amused by his attack. "How dare you try to hurt my little sister... You must pay!" she said, before she quickly disappeared, before reappearing a few steps ahead from left to right each time she disappeared.

That kind of move got Naruto confused, as the pattern was too quick and too mixed up for him to adapt to it. And before he knew, she quickly appeared close to him, as she swung her claws at him fast. He had barely enough time to guard it, but still enough for him to block the quick attack. However, she quickly throw out a series of quick claw attacks, in which Naruto was able to block them all just in time, but just barely. And then, after her last claw attack was being blocked, she quickly ram her knee on his gut, pushing out the air from his breath. "Argh...!" Naruto groaned, before he was uppercut on the chin, making stumble back in a few steps.

However, Lisa appeared behind him just as he was walking back. "Sister! He's yours next!" she shouted, as she quickly kicked him up from the back, as he was sent flying diagonally once more. When he was flying up high enough, Mona quickly appeared above him and delivered a downward kick on his head, sending him flying down.

"Ngh...!" Naruto groaned at the damage that he quickly received from the two sisters. He quickly moved his head down, as he was falling to the ground, and saw Mona diving towards him to deliver a powerful blow on him. Knowing that he would be a goner, if her claws would ever impale him down, he regained his balance, as he landed on the ground and jumped back from the attack point, making Mona stab only the ground. As he landed away from her, the other sister joined up beside her. "Damn it...! It's still not enough...!"

Mona was not amused at how the battle went on, deeming it to be unimportant, when they are dealing with him in a long period of time. "I grow tired of that battle... You're just a waste of time. One of the heroes of the prophecy? You can't even put up a match against us. You're nowhere strong enough to even catch up with us, even though you are giving out all that you got."

"Sister is right, cutie. You can fight all you want, but there is no way that you can land a hit on us." said Lisa, smirking at how much of a disadvantage that Naruto was in against the two of them. "You don't even realize that what you said is a bluff. There is in no way that you can catch up with us, even with all of your strength. You can fight long enough, but soon, you will fall."

"Oh, it will be sooner, alright..." Mona smirked, as she had thought an idea to finish off the Jinchuuriki from the battle. "Little sister... Let us commence the Sisters Attack... The one that will slice him up good."

"Oh, that?" Lisa began to giggle at the thought of using one of the techniques that only she and her sister can do, in case of ending the situation that they are in. "Can't wait... Because the cutie pie is really starting to get on my nerves, if we continue to fight like this!"

Naruto got alerted, at the sound of them planning on using a new attack that he didn't know of yet. "An attack...!"

Mona chuckled, as she began to concentrate energy into herself, letting out a purple aura that is visible to the eye. "Watch it, boy... Because you'll never live again to see the future... As long as we're around right now!"

"This is one of our Sisters Attacks! And out of the people we have faced before, only a few can survive it! And you, sweetie... are one of the most unlucky ones!" shotued Lisa, as she was surrounded by a purple aura as well, joining up with her sister.

"... **La Rapidez**..."

"... **y la Sirena**..."

"... **Ataque Hermanas!**" The two sisters shouted in unison, as they quickly disappeared from the Jinchuuriki's view. "**Speed of the Slicing Claw!**"

"They disappeared again...!" Naruto was really getting alerted at the attack that the two sisters are doing right now. However, it would be impossible for him to block it in time, since it was some kind of a special attack, and that it wouldn't be the same as with all of the normal attacks. Suddenly, something scratched against his back hard, as he let out a painful groan, with his back showing a fresh claw mark. Then, he got clawed again to the right hip, then at his left arm, then a small claw attack to his right cheek. Naruto was groaning out of pain through all the invisible attacks that the two sisters seemingly made on him. It was too quick for him to block or dodge. It was unavoidable for him.

"Heh heh heh! See that, darling?!" Mona's voice was heard around the area. "This is the strength and speed of our Sisters Attack! Our attacks are not visible to your eyes, and it is impossible for you to block or dodge without seeing them! It won't be long until you suffer from your wounds of our attacks!"

"Hah hah! That's right!" Now, it was Lisa's voice that was heard around the area. "There is no way for you to be able to escape from our attacks! Our Sister Attacks are known to be one of the few techniques that almost no one have managed to escape from! From the looks of you, you will die before you can even make a move on us! It's hopeless to stand a chance against us!"

Naruto once again groaned in pain, but just a little, as he hold onto the wound from his right hip with his left hand. If this keeps up long enough, he would definitely be a dead man. If what they said is true, then dodging the atatck by moving around won't help out, and he couldn't just guard around without knowing where they are attacking. It is really an unavoidable attack. _'Damn it...! I can't lose here...! If only I can find a flaw in their attacks, so that I can attack back no problem...! How can I find it when they're too fast for me...?!' _he thought trying to think of a way to get through the attack.

Suddenly, in his ears, there was something that got into them, as Naruto widened his eyes in surprise. _'Wait... Is there something that I'm hearing...? It sounded like...' _His ears began to pick up something that came through inside. It sounded suspicious and important, so as of now, Naruto was only concentrating in his ears. With a moment of silence from him, he was able to pick up a series of sounds. _'... That sounds like... footsteps... Moving from a sure direction...' _It was correct. He did indeed hear footsteps around the area, going through a specific direction. There were two different kind of footsteps, and which each of them belong to the two sisters. Suddenly, he heard one of the footsteps approaching closer and closer, from his right... And with that, his right arm was slashed, making him groaning out in pain once more, but still managing to hold his sword in his hand still.

_'... That attack... Just now, it came from the right, when the footsteps got closer to my right... Then that means...' _It took him a while to understand it, and he finally realized the attack pattern. _'That's it! Forget my eyes! I have to rely on my ears to do the job!' _ He understood how the attack works, and how it landed on him. He slowly closed his eyes, moving out the visual sight from him, as he began to concentrate solely on the ears. As of now, a series of foot stepping into the ground was heard around the area, and he was concentrating hard to know which one was coming. Then, he heard one of them coming closer to him, from behind. The footsteps were getting closer and closer... And just then, he quickly opened his eyes, as he turned himself around from the back, as well as swinging his sword along with him. "You're open!" he shouted.

As expected, Mona was moving from behind Naruto, but she was surprised to see him swinging his sword horizontally to where she was trying to attack. And just in time, she quickly pulled her head back before the blade could reach her. With the attack being dodged, she quickly countered him by swinging her legs up, so that the feet got him by the chin, sending him flying up to the ceiling. And quickly Lisa appeared behind Naruto, as she kicked him hard on the back, sending him flying straight ahead, as he crashed into the ground, just like before. "Ngh...!!" Naruto groaned at the moment of the impact to the ground, as he got himself up from the ground, but with some difficulty.

The two sisters quickly appeared in front of him, a few feet away, with Lisa standing to the left side of her sister. "Heh...! You got us by surprise, cutie boy!" she said. "But your speed is nothing against ours! Even if you managed to catch us, you can't match against our agility! Isn't that right, big sister?" Lisa turned her head to look at her older sister. However, upon looking at the side of her face, her eyes were widened in surprise.

Mona had just received a small cut to the cheek, as blood was beginning to drip down from it. Unlike Lisa, Mona didn't show any expression of surprise, but she did felt surrpised as much as her sister. After a while, she smirked. "... Interesting... You are able to form a scratch on my face... As well as knowing the attack pattern of our attacks..." she said. "... Looks like you're catching on pretty quick at us, hero... But do you still think that by escaping it, it means that you have a chance on winning?"

Naruto chuckled slightly. "... I don't think so... But that doesn't mean that you two can beat me that easily! Not even those wounds can get me down!"

"... Don't say those words with such bravery, darling... Or else, it'll be the end of you, if you continue to bring out your bravery." With that, Mona quickly disappeared once more, along with Lisa, as they seemed to resume their attack on Naruto.

He wouldn't have any more problem with their attacks now, once he rely solely on his ears, and not what he is seeing. Closing his eyes again, he concentrated them to hear the two footsteps that the two sisters made. Like last time, they were heard from all around. All at random with a great agility. Then, one of them was closing into him from behind. _'Right behind me...!' _he thought, as he was about to perform an attack behind him. However, there was a change. The footsteps from behind him had changed direction, now leading to the front. _'In front of me...?!' _Normally, he would be confused and out of bounds. However, he was still in high focus and was able to keep up with that. "Don't think so!" he shouted, as he performed a swift spin kick to the front.

Fortunately, the kick suddenly hit the little sister to the side of her head, as she was sent flying to the side. "Ngh...!!" she groaned, before she crashed into the ground. Naruto grinned, as he was able to hit one of the sisters in the nick of time. However, he wasn't done for, as another footstep was approaching from behind. As it got clsoer and closer, Naruto quickly moved his sword to the back, as the blade clashed against the claw of the older sister.

Mona widened her eyes in surprise. "Impressive..." she said. Then, just in time, she saw him spinning around, knocking the claws off of his sword, as he began to swing it horizontally at her. She immediately jumped off from the attack, landing a few feet away. "He is able to keep up with us even with the change of direction... So he's not that easy to be fooled."

Lisa was struggling to get up from the ground, groaning at the pain that she had received from the Jinchuuriki. "I can't believe it...! He got both of us...! And he's not even that strong to us...!" she groaned, looking at the blond Jinchuuriki, who did not receive any attacks this time, leaving him undamaged, with all of the old scratches from the previous attacks.

"Heh! Now do you think I'm still bluffing, you two?" said Naruto, grinning as he was able to form a scratch on the both of them. "After a while, I can understand your attack patterns, and the flaw that you guys have left in your attacks. If I keep this up, you guys won't be able to take me down that easily!"

"... Heh..." Mona smirked, as she let out a small puff of laughter. "... You think so, huh...? You are able to escape one of our Sisters Attack... And you prove to yourself that you can scratch us, with the knowledge that you have right now... But..." She began to let out more small laughter, before it increased to make it a normal one. "... Do you know what happens to people who are able to damage us, even slightly?"

"Huh?" Hearing it, Naruto didn't really had the answer for that, and he wasn't really sure what she meant about that. But whatever she said about that... it didn't sound good to the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf. "No... What happened...?"

Lisa was just in time to stand up from the ground, as she followed her sister's subject and smirked at the blond boy. "Listen up, hunny!" she said, drawing out Naruto's attention to her, as he turned to face her. "In our past battles, we have fought against a total of 25 people in all of our battles. You are the 26th opponent that we're fighting. And most of them didn't escape our first Sisters Attack..."

"But they are some who did, like you." continued Mona. "It resulted in us being damaged... And they have finally found a way to get away from our attack... However..." Before she was about to say more, she slowly turned her expression darker, as if the outcome was something that Naruto would regret sooner or later. "... Those who are able to damage us... cannot survive our second Sisters Attack..."

"Because, my dear sweetheart..." said Lisa, having the same dark expression as her older sister. "... The people who had survived our fist attack and damaged us... were killed by next attack... The one that cannot be avoided at any cost."

"... An unavoidable... attack?" Naruto said, getting alerted at each and every word they said.

"But instead of explaining it to you... How about we show it to you instead?" said Mona, as she lifted her claws up, as energy was beginning to fill it up, making her prepared for a new attack.

"You are one of the few opponents to witness our second Sisters Attack... and our past opponents did not live to see the day, after that..." said Lisa, as she too was glowing through the energy that she was giving in. She too had an attack, just like her sister, and Naruto did not know what was going to happen.

He was looking at the two with each passing glance, alerted at the attack that they are going to do. He didn't know when it will happen and how. All he could do was hope that it was something he could expect. "... This, hero..." started Mona.

"... is our vision of Hell..." finished Lisa, before she opened her mouth and let out a single, singing tone, which radiated around the room.

Hearing it, Naruto turned to look at her, his eyes widened in an alerting look. He knew that she was planning to attack, but he didn't understand why she was singing out a tone. Was it a distraction for the other sister to attack him by surprise? He wouldn't forget about the other, since she was also planning to attack. "What is she...?" started Naruto. However, suddenly, the ground began to shake, making him stumble a little in surprise. "What the...?! The ground...! It's...!"

However, before he could figure out what was causing that small earthquake, Lisa greatly increased the tone of her sing, making it high-pitch. And at the same time, something began to blow Naruto off the ground, as he was suddenly being flying back, before he was flying around and around in a very large circle. It felt like that there was a gust of wind pushing him off, and it was like a tornado that sucked him in and making him fly around, at a great speed. "Whoa...! What the hell...?!" He didn't understand why, but he could tell that he was caught in some kind of a tornado.

It was the perfect time for the older sister to launch out her attack, as the claws glowed bright purple, before swinging them towards the tornado, launching out numerous of curved energy blades, as they all got sucked into the tornado. Without the Jinchuuriki knowing, the energy blades were flying towards him through the spinning wind, as they quickly slashed him through one by one. Naruto cried out of pain, as the blades were slashing through him quick. Blood was splattered around the ground, as each slashes spilled out some of his blood through his body. It kept on and on, as the blades slashed him endlessly through the small tornado. After a while, the energy blades vanished, and the tornado seemed to have stopped, as Naruto was floating up high to the air.

Mona smirked, as it was the perfect time for the two sisters to unleash the final strike. "**El Rapido**..." she said, as she jumped towards the floating Jinchuuriki.

"... **y la Sirena**..." Lisa followed her sister's action, as the two of them jumped off towards him, preparing for a final attack.

"...**Ataque Hermanas!**" the two of them shouted, as they thrust themselves, along with their claws, through the blond ninja's body, making a cross thrust on him. "**Hell Tornado Blade!**"

Naruto cried out of agony, as he was being thrust through by the two sisters. And with that, he began to fall down towards the ground, before crashing onto it hard, forming a large cloud of earth around the area. The two sisters landed in the opposite side of each other, as they faced the cloud of earth, as it dissipated from the air, showing the downed Jinchuuriki with numerous of scratches and wounds, by the attack that the two sisters have made.

"... And that... is hell, my darling." said Mona, as she smirked at the defeated ninja. "Our second Sisters Attack... is deadly and inevitable."

Lisa was laughing at their dead opponent, as she walked around him and joined up with her sister beside her. "Look at you... How the "mighty" have fallen... I don't understand how you are called one of the heroes of the prophecy, when you can't even defeat a pair of servants of one of the members of the Dark Wolves."

"You are lucky to have survived long... But this is where it ends. And this is where you will be buried, as your grave, in this very chamber."

"Oh, right! I forgot! You can't even hear us, because you're dead! Hah hah hah!" The young sister continued to laugh out loud, to their victory and to his defeat. They thought that it would take a hundred years for him to be able to defeat them, and yet, he fought him too early. And now, he is dead, as dead as a fallen fox.

However...

"... Wrong...!" Hearing that one word, the two sisters widened their eyes in shock. Staring down at their fallen opponent, they could see him slowly moving his arms up before putting his hands down against the ground, as he was beginning to get up from the ground slowly, but only in an inch. Naruto was bleeding from all of his fresh wounds. But it was a miracle for him to be able to survive, even through those deadly attacks. "... I can hear you just fine...! But... I'm still not done yet...!"

"Wh... What...?! But... That's not possible!" exclaimed Lisa, shocked to see him still breathing and trying to stand up from the ground. "How can he still be alive, even after our second Sisters Attack?! All those wounds, scratches, everything! He should have died through all of those injuries!"

"... No..." said Mona. By looking at Naruto closely, there was something that made him neglected himself from death. Something about him made her curious... "... His body should have succumb to the injuries... But his soul seemed to stay in its place, fighting against death that awaits it death's door... He's resisting it..."

"... Resisting... death?" Lisa repeated at what her sister said, her eyes showing disbelief of the logic that Mona had on Naruto, and how he was still alive through all of those wounds.

"... Tell me." said Mona to the struggling Jinchuuriki. "... What is it that made you resisting your wounds? And why? With all of those fatal wounds that you have received, it shouldn't be possible for anyone to survive from those amount of wounds. Just tell me... What made you to continue to live...?"

Naruto was standing on one knee, his body continuing to struggle to get up from the ground. "... I can't die..." he said. "... Not until I fulfill my promise... for a certain someone..."

"... Promise?"

"... I promised... that I will bring them back... no matter what it takes...!" He slowly lifted his head up to look at the two sisters standing in front of him. "... And I can't let anyone kill me... until I fulfill my promise...! And you two won't stop me at the very chance that I have...!"

"... Heh heh..." Mona was chuckling slightly, chuckling at the desire that Naruto had. A desire that is selfish... "Trying to fulfill a promise... keeps you alive? What nonsense is that? What good does a promise do, if you have no chance of realizing it?"

"... What...?!"

"Hah! That's right!" Lisa laughed. "It's stupid of you to think that you can fulfill a promise that you can't keep! If that's what makes you survive, then you're just hopeless! What kind of idiot who thought that he could fulfill a promise!? Hah hah hah!"

"And besides..." stated Mona. "... People who keep their unpredictable promise... deserve to die. And people who's been promised by that same people... deserve to die too." Naruto flinched at the sound of that, as his eyes widened in a different emotion. Not in shock, but a different one... "... Heh... Just thinking about it makes me laugh... How foolish of you to try and keep that promise that you shouldn't have kept! Heh heh... Hah hah hah!!"

The two sisters began to laugh with each other at how feeble Naruto's attempt was, and how foolish his desire was. It was something that he shouldn't have done in the first place, and thinking about it gave them a warm feeling that he was weak. They continued to laugh at the weak Jinchuuriki for as long as they liked...

... However...

Suddenly, in Mona's sight, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of her, his right fist, which doesn't hold the sword anymore, being pulled back before launching out to attack her. She widened her eyes in shock, by seeing him that close without her even noticing him. Before she could have time to react, she was punched to the face, sending her flying back from him.

Lisa gasped, after seeing her sister being punched by the sudden ninja. "Sister!" she cried out to her. However, before she could even suspect it, she was kicked to the side of the head once more, by Naruto's spinning kick, as she was sent flying to the opposite direction of where her sister flew. As the two of them crashed into the ground, away from the ninja, he was left standing, looking down at the ground with his expression being hidden.

It took some time for Mona to stand up from the ground quickly, as she looked at the Jinchuuriki with a shocking expression. "... Fast...! But... How...?"

"... You..." Naruto began to speak out, his voice showing a hint of anger and hatred. "... How dare you insult my promise... And my friends... People like you, who look down at my goal, and my friends... make me sick...!" If we take a close look on his face, he was gritting his teeth out of anger. "... If you ever try and look down on my friends... And treat them as if they deserve to die..." As he began to speak it out, red energy was beginning to envelop him around, spreading out as if he was channeling out energy in his body. With that, he lifted his head up, looking at Mona in front of her with anger in his eyes. "... I'll kill you all!" With the sudden outburst, the red energy was bursting out, causing wind to be blasted out around the chamber.

Mona was shocked, as she was steadying her grounds so that she wouldn't be pushed back from the wind that was pushing against her. "What...?! That red energy...! What is...?!"

As Lisa was still on the ground, she felt her body beginning to get push away by the wind. However, she struck the ground with her claws, as she kept herself still from being taken back by it. "Aah....!! What's... going on...?!"

As wind was blowing out from where Naruto was standing, being envelopped by the red energy, the wounds that received from their attacks was starting to heal. One by one, the wounds have disappeared from his body, all thanks to the powers that he received from a certain fox demon inside of him. "Now... Let me show you..." Naruto started to say, as he closed his eyes. Then, his eyelids were turning black, as well as the skin besides the eyes, which were turning orange. As Naruto opened his eyes slowly, it no longer showed his sky-blue eyes, but instead, it showed a pair of golden yellow eyes, with rectangular shaped pupils. "... the powers that my friends gave me!"

Lisa had enough time to stand up from the ground and, as she was able to withstand the wind blowing against her, she ran towards the Jinchuuriki with her claws ready to thrust at him. "You BASTARD!!!" she shouted. However, just as she thrust her claws at him, he suddenly disappeared from sight. "What..?! Gone?!"

Suddenly, she felt his presence from behind. Turning her head behind her, she saw him swinging his sword, being held by his right hand again, at her with full speed. She was helpless to try and dodge it by that speed. However, Mona quickly appeared in front of her, blocking the block with her claws. "Sister!" Lisa cried to her.

"I don't think so...!" Mona said, as she pushed Naruto off of her. Then, she quickly moved forward to deliver a series of quick claw attacks at him. However, unlike last time, he quickly dodged them all without even a single hair being cut off. _'What?! He dodged them?!' _she thought out of shock. As she was distracted by the thought of him dodging all of her attacks, Naruto quickly grabbed her armored hand, spinning her around off from the ground, before he threw her towards the other sister, who got pushed along with her.

As they got pushed off, they quickly got off of each other and regain their balance, landing on the ground a little away from Naruto. The Jinchuuriki was already preparing an attack, as he pulled his sword back and thrust it hard towards the two, creating a piercing energy of fire. "**Fire Spear!**" he shouted, as the energy blast was going straight to the two sisters.

However, they both jumped off to avoid the attack, as they were jumping high enough for them to try a dive attack on the Jinchuuriki. However, little did they know that he quickly appeared below of Lisa, as he grabbed both of her ankles and spun themselves around vertically, as they were going down towards the ground. "Lisa!" Mona cried out to her sister, after seeing her being spun around, while falling towards the ground.

As the two of them are getting closer to the ground, Naruto quickly made one more spin with Lisa, before slamming her into the ground hard. The younger sister let out a painful groan upon impact. As Naruto landed on the ground, after slamming her into the ground, he looked up to see the older sister, diving down towards him with her claws ready to strike once more. "Get away from her!" she shouted, getting closer and closer to Naruto by the second. However, he quickly jumped back, as Mona struck only the ground upon landing.

As Naruto landed on the ground a few feet away from her, she was already preparing for an attack, by standing up from the ground and pulled her claws off of it, before it was glowing purple, as energy was beginning to fill it up. "You think you can outmatch us?!" she shouted, before she pulled her claws back and thrust it at him, shooting out numerous of purple beams at him. "**Raining Fangs!**"

As the purple beams were shooting out at him, spreading from around the area in front of him, instead of jumping out of the way, Naruto charged straight forward to his opponent, running through the beams, as he dodged them side to side without getting a simple hit. "What?!" Mona was shocked to see him dodging all of the beams that she shot at him. And before she knew, he was standing closer to her, as he threw his fist at her hard, sending her flying back a few feet away once more. After being bounced off back a couple of times, she managed to regain her balance, as she landed on the ground, sliding back onto it before halting into a stop. She was scowling. "Impossible...! How can this be...?!" She couldn't believe it. At the beginning, they are superior against Naruto. And now, it was the other way around, and Naruto was able to take care of them without receiving a single scratch.

"Damn it...!" If she wanted to put an end to the Jinchuuriki, they have to do this fast. "Lisa!" she shouted out to her younger sister, as she lifted her head up to look at her older sister, before she got onto her feet and jumped off to join up with her. As Lisa turned around to face Naruto again, who was found far away from the two, Mona had spoken to her. "That's it... Let's use the second Sisters Attack again...!"

"Right!" Lisa nodded, as the two of them were building up energy, for Mona, to her claws, and to Lisa, to her body. Seeing it once more, Naruto knew that he had to get away from it. So, he quickly slid his hand into his pouch and pulled out a black ball, before throwing it to the ground, as it exploded and a cloud of smoke had appeared around the area, engulfing the three of them into its cloudy form. "Huh?! Smoke?!" exclaimed Lisa.

"Don't be alarmed! He won't escape through that trick! Let us commence the attack!"

Lisa nodded to her sister, as she opened up her mouth and let out a soft, singing tone that could be heard around the chamber. As time grows by, she quickly increased the pitch of her tone in a great level, evoking a large wind that gust through around the chamber, spinning itself to turn into a small tornade. With the wind blowing out, the smoke cleared out, and it revealed Naruto being trapped into the tornado.

Mona smirked, as she saw the ninja being trapped in the same trick once more. "Thought you could get away that easily?!" she shouted, as she swung her claws down, creating numerous of purple energy blades that went inside of the tornado, catching up with Naruto through their spin. Just like last time, the blades slashed through him, one by one. The cycle of the blades continued, as Naruto received many slashes from all of the blades in an endless cycle, before they disappeared, as well as the tornado. He was now being flown to the air. "This is it!" Mona smirked once more, as she jumped towards Naruto, with her sister joining her in their attack.

"**El Rapido**..."

"... **y la Sirena**..."

"... **Ataque Hermanas!**" The two of them shouted, as they thrust themselves through Naruto with their claws, crossing their strike on him at the same time. "**Hell Tornado Blade!**" With that being done with, they turned their heads to look at Naruto, who had been slashed through numerous of times and with the final attack down, he was about to fall to the ground. They both smirked at the sight of him being defeated once more.

... However, Naruto suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, surprising the two sisters in shock. "What?! A clone?!" exclaimed Lisa.

"Up here!" They both heard Naruto from above, as they looked up, only to see him diving down towards them, with his left hand holding the **Rasengan** to attack. "**Rasengan!**" he shouted, as he was about to thrust the technique at either one of them. However, the two of them managed to move away at the opposite direction from each other, as he passed by them and ended by diving towards the ground.

"Heh! You missed us, bastard!" Lisa smirked. However, what the two sisters didn't expect, was that when the **Rasengan** touched the ground, it suddenly exploded, creating another smoke screen around the area, only more larger than before. "Huh?! Again?!" Lisa exclaimed, as the two sisters got into the large cloud of smoke, but further away from each other. As they entered it, they could see that the smoke was so thick, that they couldn't see each other. "Sister! Where are you?!"

"Hang on! It won't stay like this for long!" shouted Mona, who was standing in whatever the distance between the two sisters are. But still, they already witnessed the same attack before... But how could it...? "But how...?! How could an attack like that be able to come up that much smoke?!"

"... Simple." The two sisters heard Naruto's voice again, somewhere within the large cloud of smoke. "I put my smoke bomb inside of my **Rasengan**. And the result was still the same... But it creates a even bigger smoke screen than what a normal smoke bomb can do. So with the combination of my technique and the smoke bomb, this is what gave me the result."

"... I see." Mona understood what he meant. With the **Rasengan**'s strength and the smoke bomb's explosion, it created a more powerful and more large smoke by the strength of it. "And what about the clone? It shouldn't take more than one hit to destroy it from the battle." She remembered that the first time that she had defeated the clones was with one technique, that destroyed all of them in one touch. And the one that they recently attacked was different.

"That's because I used more chakra into that clone so it can endure more hits than normal. And that's what led me to sue a surprise attack on you." replied Naruto. "But enough talk. Since you two can't see anything through the smoke for a while, it's perfect time for me to make a sneak attack! Get ready for it!"

Lisa was alarmed, at the sound of him going for a sneak attack on either of them. "Sister!" she cried out to Mona.

"Stay clam! Use your ears! It won't be hard for us to hear his footsteps through the smoke!" ordered Mona, as she focused solely on the ears for that one. If Naruto could do it against their first Sisters Attack, then she can do it through that as well. It won't be long until it comes. After a short while, she could hear a faint stepping sound, in which the sound of it increased, as it was getting closer and closer to her by the second. It came from behind her. She smirked, as she knew where Naruto was going for. "... If you're really a ninja..." she started to say, before turning around and slashed through Naruto with her claws, cutting him in two. "... Then your assassination skill is worthless!"

However, to her shock, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, just like the other one. "Another clone?!" she exclaimed.

"You're OPEN!" She heard Naruto's voice from behind, as he was lunging at her with his sword ready to strike. As she turned around to face him and block his attack, it was too late. At the time that Naruto was about to swing his sword, the blade grew larger in its flames, large enough to take over the area around him. Mona could only watch in terror, as Naruto was about to slash her. "**Blade of Hellfire!**" he shouted, as he swung his sword at her. in a quick speed, he found himself standing down behind her.

Mona stood still, at the moment that he was behind her. She didn't know what exactly happened, but suddenly, her body felt an extreme pain, a pain so powerful that she wanted to scream out of agony. However, she completely lost the painful feeling, as blood was gushing out of her body, at the area where she was slashed by the Sword of Endless Hellfire. She slowly kneed down to the ground, before she began to fall towards it, her life slipping away from her body. _'... I... lost...' _was her final thought, before she fell to the ground, as her life disappeared from the world.

With Mona's presence disappearing from him, he concluded that he had finished her off, as he stood straight up, the blade of his sword returning into its normal shape. He already used up more of his natural energy for the techniques that he used, as his eyes were returning from yellow to blue, as well as his eyelids and the side of his eyes returning into its skin color. "... One down... One to go."

At the time that he said that, the smoke was start to clear from the area. Lisa, who was somewhere around the smoke, felt something wrong. She couldn't feel her sister's energy anymore. Could that mean...? "Sister?! Sister! Are you still here?!" she shouted out. The smoke was clearing from the area, making it more visible in the eyes. As she looked around to find her sister, she instead found two shadowy figures, hiding within the vanishing smoke. As the smoke continued to clear a little more, her eyes were widened in shock, as she saw Mona lying on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding her, with Naruto standing behind her. "No...! No...!!! SISTER!!!" she cried out to her.

Hearing Lisa's voice, Naruto looked to see her standing a little far away from him, and then, he saw her running up to them, with her claws ready to strike him. Just in time, Naruto jumped back before she could have the chance to get him. After a failed attempt to strike him, Lisa looked down at the fallen body of her sister, as she went down to her knees to hold her in her arms, before turning her body around to look at her face. "Sister...! No...! Please, wake up...!" Lisa pleaded, as she shook Mona's body a little. No response. "No..! Please...! Don't leave me like this...! Please...!" Tears began to form in her eyes, as drops of it began to fall from it. She sobbed down on the lifeless body of her sister.

Looking at Lisa holding Mona's lifeless body, he couldn't help, but feel sorry about her loss of her sister. However, it had no other choice, since they're the one who attacked him first and were ordered to kill anyone who fell from the hole and survived, without any complaints. But if that were to happen to him, with one of his friends who were like a brother to him, he would feel sad about his death... Just like with those two. "... You...!" He heard her starting to say something. She looked up to his face, with her face showing a hatred expression, as tears continued to fall down on her face. "... You... killed her! You killed her, you bastard!"

"... You put this one on yourself." said Naruto. "You're the one who attacked me first... And I had no other choice, but to fight back. Don't you see? I'm your enemy. And you two are the same for me. We have to kill each other to win the fight..."

"But...! You didn't have to kill her like that...!" Lisa continued to sob. But she still retained some control of herself to face her opponent. "... Without her... Without her, there is nothing for me to live on with...! She was the one who guided me...! She was the one who taught me...! The two of us worked together to fight any of those who stand in our way...!"

"... And you didn't think that your sister's death is like the deaths of the opponents that you killed?"

"Their lives are nothing...! They don't deserve to live...! They didn't respect our vision of the world...! They deserved to die, damn it!"

"... Then what are you two fighting for? What are you fighting for that makes you wanting to kill them because they didn't acknowledge your vision of the world? What is your vision of the world, anyway?"

Lisa hesitated from answering it. But after a good while, she spoke again. "... To change the world..." she said, which got Naruto a little surprised. "... Changing the world... where only one ruler can dominate them all... The one ruler who can restore the balance that the world has ruined... We joined the Dark Wolves... to ensure that the world will be controled by our lord...! Lord... Kuromaru...!"

"... Lord Kuromaru...?" Naruto caught up with the name that Lisa spoke out of. "... The leader of the Dark Wolves...?"

"... What about you...?" Lisa began to ask him. "... What do you think of the new world...? The world where Kuromaru can rule to restore the balance...? Are you with him...?"

A new world... A world where a ruler controls the entire world... A ruler who has the power to change anything about the world... And a ruler who can bring chaos to the world, by removing one thing that the people had desired the most... "... I wish I could say that I'm with you... But..." He slowly turned his head away from her. "... The new world that you're tyring to create... I don't like it."

At the sound of it, Lisa's hatred grew once more, as she looked at the Jinchuuriki with anger in her eyes. "I knew it! You are the same as the others! You don't deserve to live! You deserve to die, just like everyone else!"

"What good does it come to change the world where someone rules it and take away people's freedom?!"

"You don't understand our intentions! We're changing the world for the better!"

"By taking away their freedom?! What kind of a better world is that, when there is no freedom in people's hearts?!"

"This world will be better of be controlled by our lord! There's nothing you can do to stop us from changing the world for peace!"

"Having someone to rule the world takes away the freedom! Without freedom, there's no peace! And without peace, the world will crumble into eternal destruction!"

"SHUT UP!!!!" Naruto flinched at the sound of her screaming out at him. "... Shut up...! Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up! You don't understand it at all! No one understands our intentions! And that's why... That's why people like you deserve to die!" She couldn't keep in her hatred for Naruto and the other people any longer. She lifted her armored hand up in the air, as a sign that she was about to attack. "I will kill you for not respecting our desire! And I'll kill you for killing my sister! You all deserve to DIE!!!" She let out a large battle cry.

Naruto was already prepared to have another round in the fight. However, he saw something that he didn't even expect her to do. "What the...?!"

What he saw... was Lisa stabbing herself on the chest, with her claws. And then, slowly she cut down the skin of her chest down, opening up a large gap through her body, as she let out a painful, and yet resisting groan. After she opened up a gap large enough for at least her hand to slide into, she then did the same with the lifeless body of her sister, opening up the same gap into her chest. "And... And I have... found the way to... end you...!" she struggled to speak out the words, as she slid her unarmored hand into the gap that she made on her sister. After a while, she pulled out something that made Naruto into a shocked state. She slowly pulled out the heart of her sister.

"... Sister... If... If it's still possible... Let us combine... our strength to... kill that... bastard...!" she groaned. She then slowly put the heart inside of the gap on her chest, ignoring the veins that still connected to her sister's inside of her body. Then, something happened. As her sister's heart is connected with her own heart, she felt a tight feeling inside. That feeling eventually grew larger and larger, making her feel it, as it was like a painful one. She let out a painful cry, as she moved her face up to the ceiling, before both of her eyes glowed right, as well as her mouth. And eventually, her entire body.

"What the hell...?! What is going on...?!" Naruto wasn't sure at what Lisa was planning to do, but when the large light occurred around the area, he shielded his eyes with his arms, as the chamber began to illuminated brightly, engulfing everyone inside of the blinding light.

It wasn't long that the light began to fade away from the chamber, it was safe for Naruto to move his arms away from his eyes. As he looked at where Lisa could be, his eyes were widened in shock once more. "What...?!"

Standing at where Lisa was, there was only one person. And that person was neither Mona or Lisa, in his view. It was a whole different female. A black female with long, purple hair that stops at the waist. However, it was tied into a ponytail at around the height above of her waist. She had a pair of silver eyes, that glittered like the shining moon. She was wearing a black spandex suit with a purple flamed skull head with red, sinister eyes on the chest area. She holds the same armor as the two sisters, but this time, on both sides. And the color was changed from silver to black on the armors. If he could see closely enough, she was surrounded by a dark aura. She smirked sinisterly at the stunned ninja. "... Oh yeah..."

Naruto was definitely stunned. It was a whole new person to him, that he didn't even know. Is it Mona? Is it Lisa? Who is it? "What the hell...?! Who the hell are you...?!"

The mysterious black lady looked down at her armored hands, feeling nostalgic of becoming what she is. "... It's been a while since the two of us fused together as one... And it is a surprised that we are able to fuse again, even though Mona died..." she said. She then looked back at the Jinchuuriki, smirking as she already knew what the outcome of the battle was going to be. "Uzumaki Naruto... Now you face me..."

"What...?!"

"I am neither Mona El Rapido nor Lisa la Sirena. I am a new person who has been fused by the two sisters together, whenever the two of them live or one of them dies. I am the powerful sister of Carlos' servants. I... am Rosalia La Tigresa. The one who will end your life."

"... Rosalia... Le Tigresa..." Naruto repeated the name of the new enemy in front of him. She seemed more powerful, and more ferocious than the other two sisters. It looks like he was going for another round with a new opponent. However, because his Sage Mode ended, he was exhausted, almost no strength left to keep on fighting for long... Unless he had an idea to regain the Sage Mode by some way.

"Now, Uzumaki Naruto..." said Rosalia, as she let out a sinister smile at him. "Are you ready to die yet...? Heh heh heh heh heh...!"

Naruto groaned. He wasn't liking where the situation was going. Unless he finds a way to fight once more, he would be a goner. But how would he be able to defeat an enemy such as her? If only he had knew that this was about to happen...

"Looks like it's time for Round 3...!"

**End of Chapter**

Hey, guys. It's me again, with a new chapter... So... Uh... I noticed that the description of the battle was a little... repetitive. And... Uh... Well, I just need some new words that fit the description nicely, so... I need some help. Alright, guys?

Well, that's all I can say about it. So Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	15. Chapter 14: The Tigresse

Hey guys. It's me again. With a new chapter... Finally. Well, I know that some of you guys were wondering how I was able to update so fast. Well, the answer is simple... Because I got a lot of time in my hands to write the chapters. And it took me, like, almost an entire morning, afternoon and night to write it all. It's not because I'm Jesus (Although, it would be funny, for once...), it's just because I got a lot of time on my weekends and weeknights. But now, this time, it's been long, but I have finally updated it... No, it's not because this chapter is long, but it's because I took a long break from the story. And just like before, I'm writing the chapter for a day or two, depending how much time I got left. Well, here it is! The newest chapter!

"Speaking"

_'Thoughts'_

_Flashbacks_

**Jutsu/Zanpakuto/Techniques**

Disclaimer: I do not own any animes or mangas.

**Chapter 14:**

**The Tigresse**

Deep inside of the Grave of the Earth God, Ichigo and the others were walking through the deep and dark cave, knowing that a certain enemy is somewhere right to the end of the seemingly endless cave. They have lost Naruto from a trap door that was set to ambush at least one person of the group, and Naruto ended up being the one who is caught into it. But that didn't stop the group from keeping on going to where Carlos is, knowing that Naruto would survive the fall... Hopefully.

The cave was a little damp, as the ground that they are walking on was a little muddy. And it was so dark that they almost couldn't even see the road up ahead. Renji groaned a little, as the place was starting to annoy him. "Man, this cave is definitely a real grave, alright. I'm not surprised that Carlos chose it as a battleground for us, leading us to a disadvantage." he said.

"Who knows." said Lockon, as he looked around the cave while walking ahead, even though the place was as dark as the night. "We might find a way to lead us to an advantage, if we think straight ahead. And besides, it's six against one. What are the odds for that?"

"We can't forget that Carlos is much stronger than you think he is." said Rukia, as she turned her head back to look at Lockon, who was behind her. "We fought him once in group, and he managed to beat us up easily. He's not someone who's gonna take it easy on us."

"Right. We can't forget about that." Lockon nodded, as he remembered that members of the Dark Wolves are much stronger opponents than normal people. If that was the case, then fighting one on one will lead to death.

Karin wasn't really listening to what the others are talking about, as she looked down on the ground, with a simple thought in mind... Naruto. She couldn't stop thinking if Naruto had survive or not. If he hadn't, then her hope will be lost. Without Naruto, how can she hoped to fight alongside with the others against an enemy who is twice as strong as them, without a glimpse of hope from the Jinchuuriki? She could only hoped that he survived. "Naruto..."

Lisa, who was walking next to Karin, noticed her hopeless expression on her face. She quickly figured out that Karin was worrying about a certain blond-haired ninja who was lost into the trap door from back there. Knowing that Karin wouldn't feel any better, if they continue walking forward to the enemy, Lisa decided to try and comfort her. "Don't worry. Remember what your friend, Lockon, said. Your friend won't be killed that easily. He is strong enough to prevent that kind of trap from ending his life."

"I know, but..." Karin felt a small hint of doubt about it.

"I know that I don't know much about him, but I can see that he is rather strong. Strong enough to take on a powerful enemy. I know, because from what I see from him, he has confidence in himself." Hearing Lisa's words, Karin slightly looked at her, her eyes still showing signs of doubt. Lisa gently smiled at her, as she continued to comfort her. "So please. Don't lose hope in yourself. I know that he'll survive, no matter what."

Karin still doubted that Naruto would survive, but after hearing Lisa's words, she felt that he would definitely survived from that. Because she remembered that he had a promise to fulfill, and he won't let anything stand in his way of fulfilling that promise. With a newly developed hope, she smiled back. "Yeah... You're right." she said, as she nodded. Lisa nodded back, as a sign of confirmation.

The brown-haired Gundam Meister was still looking around the cave, identifying anything that looks rather suspicious to him. Looking up to the ceiling, he suddenly stopped, as he saw something that caught him off-guard. Seeing the Gundam Meister stopped so suddenly, the others followed suite, looking at him with a questionable look from each. "Hey, what's up, Lockon?" asked Ichigo, wanting to know why Lockon stopped dead from his tracks.

"... Look up here." Locking said, signaling the others to follow his gaze. The others followed and, with the same surprising look on their face, they saw something that looked unusual inside of the cave.

On the ceiling of the cave, there was a total of 5 creatures hanging on the ceiling with their feet, with their wings covering them to conceil their bodies. They looked like statues, much to the group's relief.

"What are those? Gargoyles or something?" asked Renji, after he identified the appearance of the creatures from above the ceiling.

"I don't know. But rest assure that it's not real." said Lockon.

"But that's strange..." said Rukia, as she founded something rather odd with the statues up there. "This is a cave. And caves don't usually have that sort of decoration like those statues. Something is off with them..."

"Maybe Carlos liked to set up statues in the cave. Who knows." Lockon shrugged, as the presence of the statues didn't really bother him much. "Let's just keep on going. Standing here, looking at those gargoyles won't help us to get this over with."

The others nodded, as they continued their walk through the dark cave, ignoring the statues that stood on the ceiling behind them. After taking a few steps ahead, farther away from them, Lisa felt something that was off. She stopped walking, as she went through her thoughts about the feeling that she had. Lockon, who was right in front of her, felt that someone stopped walking, and he looked back to look at Lisa. "Hm? Something wrong?"

She had a bad feeling about that. It felt like there was going to be an ambush or something. But of what kind? There wasn't anything that seemed suspicious to her at all, except for the gargoyles.

... Wait... Gargoyles?

She widened her eyes in realization, as she quickly turned around and drew out her Zanpakuto, surprising the Gundam Meister. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"Be careful! The gargoyles!"

"Wha-..." Before he had time to ask her about them, his gaze were going to an unknown object that was flying towards the group from behind. It was the 5 gargoyles, flying towards them with their wings spread out in the air, their demonic face showing signs of attack. "Oh crap!" Lockon shouted, as he turned around completely and pulled out his gun, warning the others, as they all looked back to see the flying gargoyles.

"What the...? They're alive?" exclaimed Renji, shocked to see a group of statues being able to move and fly around towards them.

"So that's why something is off with them! It's an ambush!" said Rukia, as she quickly drew out her Zanpakuto, along with Renji and Ichigo, while Karin quickly got on to her fighting stance, ready to fight against the group of gargoyles.

Lockon quickly attacked them by shooting them with his gun, but the gargoyles easily dodged the series of bullets flying towards them, even when Lockon's accuracy was perfect. "Damn, they're fast!"

One of the gargoyles, after avoiding a few of Lockon's bullets, quickly dived straight to Lisa. The female Vizard was expecting that attack, as she quickly blocked it with her Zanpakuto. As she pushed the gargoyle off of her with her Zanpakuto, she quickly jumped off and delivered a swift kick to the side of its head, pushing it to the same direction of where her kick was going. At the same time, another gargoyle was flying towards her. She quickly noticed it, and attempted to swing her Zanpakuto at it.

But just as she was about to slash it, it quickly grabbed her wrist, of which her hand was holding her Zanpakuto, and it quickly went around behind her, clinging onto her arms and body with its arms. "Urgh...!"

"Lisa!" cried out Lockon, as he was about to aim his gun at the gargoyle who binded her. However, he didn't notice that another one of the gargoyles was going towards him, and it locked him up the same way as the gargoyle that binded Lisa. "Urgh...! Damn it...!"

"Yadomaru-san! Lockon!" shouted out Rukia, as she was about to charge off to help the two. However, she was also caught in the hold of another gargoyle, just like the two. As Renji and Karin were about to help them out, they too were caught in the hold of the last two gargoyles.

"Guys!" shouted Ichigo, witnessing his friends being caught by each gargoyle.

"Damn it! Let go of me, you creep!" Renji shouted, as he tried to free himself from the hold. The gargoyle's hold was rather strong, even when Renji was at his maximum strength.

"Hold on! I'm coming!" Ichigo shouted, as he was about to free them out from the gargoyles. However, just as he was about to do just that, a black hole appeared just from the center of the ground where the five trapped allies stood. Then, it enlarged itself into a large, black hole, engulfing the ground that the five were standing on. Before they knew, they all fell down into the black hole.

"ICHIGO!" Rukia shouted out, as she looked up at the Substitute Shinigami with a distressed look on her face, before she fell deeper and deeper into the whole, the sight of the orange-haired Shinigami being gradually shrunk from her sight.

"GUYS!" Ichigo cried out, as he was about to dive into the hole in attempt to reach them. However, the hole quickly closed up before he had a chance to do so. He found himself on the ground with his hands and knees supporting him up. "Damn it! Guys!" he shouted, as he slammed his fist down against the ground where the black hole once was, in attempt to open it up for him to get through. "Damn it! Let me though! I said let me through!"

"... It's no use. The trap is already sealed up." Ichigo suddenly heard a voice that came from behind him. That voice sounded familiar to him... And it belongs to someone who made him come here. Looking back behind him, he saw a familiar bald man, standing a few feet away from him.

"You...!" Ichigo said, as he quickly stood up from the ground and turned to face the familiar enemy. He was about to attack him, but when he looked at him closely, he looked rather muddy around the body. Ichigo quickly understood that it was another earth clone. "What have you done to them, you bastard!"

"Relax, Kurosaki Ichigo." said Carlos' earth clone with a sinister smile on his face. "The trap isn't fatal. Your friends will very much survive from the fall, unlike the last trap back there. But then again, even though the fall isn't fatal, there is something else that will endanger their lives."

"Where have you taken them, Carlos? I swear, if you're not a clone right here, I would have...!"

"Save your energy, Kurosaki Ichigo. But I do admire your anger towards me." Carlos said, with an amused look on his face. "Your friends are in good hands, as of now... But I wonder how long they'll be able to survive down there? After all, they are just rats, raised in a filthy world such as this."

Ichigo gritted his teeth in anger. Just hearing him talking trash to his friends made him mad, and his intent to kill him was increasing a little, just by hearing him talk like that. "Let my friends go, you bastard...!"

"That, I cannot do. After all, they are just nuisance to our battle between us that will occur over to the end of the cave." Carlos said, as he let out a soft chuckle a little. "If you want to see them being set free and alive, then you must defeat me in battle... But of course, the odds of that are rather small, in your part."

"Damn you...!"

"Oh yes. There is something else that I want to tell you about." Carlos continued. "Rejoice. Your friend, the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf, has survived from the fall of the trap door that I set up back in the entrance of the cave. He is more persistent than I though he is."

"Naruto? He's alive?" Hearing it, Ichigo was relieved to know that Naruto had survive. Lockon was right all along. Naruto wasn't the type of guy who would die that easily from a trap such as that.

"However..." Carlos resumed, as he let out another soft chuckle that sounded more sinister than the last. "I'm afraid that he is in the care of my servants."

"Servants...?"

"Yes. If the fall could not kill him, like I hoped that it could, then my servants will quickly take care of your friend. And believe me, your friend has no chance of winning against them, even if he were to defeat even one of them in battle.

"What...?"

"My servants are rather strong. As strong as I am. They are a pair of sisters who are thirsty for blood and death. And as I remembered correctly, they have killed a large amount of people that easily. Not that I am surprised, actually. After all, they are called the Murdering Sisters of Mexico..."

"Murdering Sisters...? They're murderers..."

"Hmph. I think I have wasted enough time now. I don't want to explain all of the details about them to you, knowing that you'll be killed, as well as that Jinchuuriki. As I said before, if you want your friends to be alive, then you must come at the end of the cave, where I'll be waiting. If you leave, however, your friends will be slaughtered by my hands. Understand?"

"Ngh...!"

Carlos smirked, as he knew that Ichigo wouldn't refuse something like that, knowing that his friends are in danger, if he doesn't do anything to save them. "Hmph. Just your expression is enough for me to know what will be your answer." he said, chuckling once more. "I'll be waiting at the deep end of the cave, Kurosaki Ichigo. We will settle this over there." With that, the earth clone began to disintegrated itself, as sand fell from him and completely dissipated his image, leaving nothing, but sand on the ground.

Ichigo had no other choice. He didn't want any of his friends to fall in the hands of an enemy such as Carlos. Then again, it was actually a plot to get him to come, in order to set his friends free. By fighting against Carlos, he needed to win against him for his friends' freedom. If he declined, however, he would regret what would happen next. "Damn it...!" Without any time to lose, Ichigo quickly ran straight through the cave, attempting to speed things up, so that the others wouldn't suffer any longer.

He then stopped, as he remembered that there was someone else that he needed to worry about. Looking back at where the entrance of the cave was further ahead, he could only hoped that the Jinchuuriki was able to fend off the sisters. He could only hoped. "Naruto..."

* * *

Somewhere at the bottom of the cave, inside of a large, dark and rocky area, two people are facing each other in battle. One of them is Naruto, who seemed to be tired, because of the usage of Sage Mode, and the other is a new enemy that Naruto has to face. Rosalia Le Tigresa, the fusion form of the two sisters, which one of them was defeated by the Jinchuuriki.

Rosalia looked at Naruto with sinister eyes, eyes that are ready to strike at any time. "I'm impressed." she said, smirking at the Jinchuuriki. "I have never thought that you'll be able to defeat one of the sisters. No one else are able to defeat them in battle, after the second Sister Attack."

"Heh." Naruto chuckled a little, as he was being praised by his enemy. But he couldn't forget that she's his opponent and being praised by her was not something to be chuckling about. "What can I say? I'm tougher than I look, you know." he said, as he took a step forward. However, when he made that step, he slightly lost his balance on the ground, but he quickly regained it. As he had thought, he was exhausted. And his exhaustion would lead him to a disadvantage in his following battle with her.

"Indeed you are." Rosalia said. "I guess I should have expected that from one of the heroes of the prophecy. Their strength gradually increase with each and every battle that they fought in. I was wrong to take it easy on you."

"Yeah? Well, now that I know that you won't go easy on me this time, I'm gonna go all out!" he said, as he got on to his fighting stance, with his right hand holding the Sword of Endless Hellfire in front of him, ready to strike or block at any time. He still had enough energy to even try to stand up against an opponent like her.

"Hm... What's this?" Rosalia asked, smirking, as she founded something quite amusing to her. "Is that... fatigue that I see? That's strange. Back then, you weren't so tired in your last fight, even when you were in a near-death state. Could it be that, by using your last technique, you become exhausted?"

Naruto widened his eyes in shock, as Rosalia was able to know the state that he was currently in, the state that would lead him to a disadvantage. _'Oh crap! She's onto me! Damn it...! I can't fight against her when I'm like that. If only I have enough time to gather some natural energy around me right now...!'_

"Hmph. Oh well." Rosalia said, as she shrugged in amusement. "That just helps me out to kill you even faster. I'll be happy to kill you nice and slowly, my dear boy. And after all..." Before she continued on with her sentence, she once again looked at Naruto with sinister eyes. "... Like what Mona said before... People who keep their unpredictable promise deserve to die." With that, she quickly disappeared from Naruto's view.

"Fast!" Naruto exclaimed, as he looked around to see if he could see Rosalia. Even with both his eyes and his ears, he couldn't see her or hear her footsteps, as if she was a ghost. Then, suddenly, Rosalia quickly appeared in front of him closely, catching him off-guard. "Urgh...!"

"I have you now!" Rosalia shouted, as she quickly thrust her right armored claw at him. Naruto quickly blocked it, barely, but he was pushed back away from her, due to his exhaustion.

_'Damn...! She's as fast as Mona!'_ Naruto thought, as he quickly prepared himself for another, upcoming attack from Rosalia. Just as he expected, she jumped off from the ground and, as she was right above the Jinchuuriki, she dived down towards him with her left claw ready to strike. Naruto jumped back off from the attack point, as Rosalia struck only the ground, but not before breaking it into a dozen of pieces. As Naruto landed on the ground away from her, he witnessed the strength of the attack that she had just made. _'She's strong, just like Lisa! Guess she really is a fusion of the two!'_

"Heh heh! Not over yet!" she said, as she charged towards Naruto, her two claws ready to strike. Naruto quickly jumped off of the ground, avoiding Rosalia's charge. As he found himself jumping up in the air, Rosalia stopped her charge and turned around to look at the Jinchuuriki, before jumping off from the ground as well, her claws ready to strike once more. "Roar!"

Naruto noticed her attack in the air, as he quickly turned himself around in the air and shielded himself with his flamed sword, blocking her claw attack, as he ended up diving back to the ground away from her. As he quickly landed on the ground, sliding from it a little, he looked up to see Rosalia attacking once more, diving towards him. "Crap!" he shouted, as he jumped back once more, as Rosalia hit the ground once again, breaking it into pieces, as well as creating a dust of smoke upon impact..

As Naruto slided himself back to the ground, he looked at Rosalia again, groaning, as the fatigue was weakening him with each and every second. "Damn it...! I can't keep this up any longer...!" he groaned. When the dust cleared, he could see her once more. But then, he was surprised, when he saw the stance that she was in.

Rosalia was standing on the ground on all four, standing on her hands, with her claws laying to the front, and on her feet. It looked as if her waist was a little curved up, and both of her arms and legs were folding a little, in different ways. As she looked at Naruto, she growled with amusement. "Heh heh heh..."

_'Wh... What's up with her stance? It looks like something that Kiba would do, when fighting against someone. Does that mean that she's just like Kiba?'_

"Don't you lose concentration now, Uzumaki Naruto!" shouted Rosalia. "Or else, you might end up as a useless prey, fidgeting helplessly against the predator! If you lose focus now, then the tiger will take it as a chance to capture its prey!" Following her sentences, she quickly charged straight at Naruto, running with her feet and her claws preparing for yet another attack.

"Again...!" Naruto attempted to try and block her attacks once more, with enough energy that he had left in him. However, he didn't expect that she quickly lunged off from the ground, and turning herself around, with her claws above her head. Then, suddenly, as her claws were making a spinning movement, piercing through the air, she suddenly got surrounded by the broken wind and she went faster and faster, transforming herself into a large drill. Naruto, as he saw the sudden attack, widened his eyes in shock. "That's...!"

"**Tiger Fang!**" Rosalia shouted out the attack, as it went flying straight towards Naruto. He quickly jumped off from the attack and landed behind it, as it was only hitting the air once more. However, the large drill flew up in the air and dived back down from behind, as it went straight to him again. Naruto, seeing the attack again, jumped back to avoid it, as it struck the ground, drilling itself through it, until it was going under, disappearing from Naruto's sight.

_'That move...! It's just like Kiba's __**Tsuga**__! Everything she does is almost exactly like how Kiba used to fight! It's like she herself is a dog! ... Or maybe...' _Naruto thought, trying to tie up some ends in order to know why Rosalia fights just like Kiba. He first thought that she acted like a dog, but when he got his thoughts further in, he realzied that her fighting skills wasn't all about being a dog. _'That's it! She acts like a tiger! Just as her name suggested! If dogs and tigers are the same in some ways, then her attack pattern will be easy for me... I hope!'_

As he continued to think about her fighting style, he heared a small cracking noise in front of him. He looked to where he heard that noise, and then, suddenly, the ground shattered into pieces in front of him and a large drill was going his way. Naruto was unfortunate, as he didn't have enough time to react to that, as he ended up being struck by the large drill that pierced onto him. He groaned in pain, and after a short while, he was being sent flying up in the air, above the drill, as it curved itself up in the air. Naruto brutally fell to the ground on his back hard, as he then hold onto the spot where he was being pierced onto. "Grr...!"

The large drill, which was founded up in the air, had its speed decreasing, as it reverted back into Rosalia, who slowly stopped spinning around. With a complete stop, she landed back softly on the ground on her knee, smirking, as she slowly stood up on both of her feet. "Heh heh... I have you now."

Naruto turned his head to the side to look at the menacing enemy, his face still showing expression of pain. "Damn it...!"

"Without that technique of yours, you're helpless against me. I always thought that you might be tougher than this, since you have killed one of the sisters. But then again, maybe you are not. And this makes my job much more easier to capture the prey." Rosalia said, smirking, as she crossed her armored claws to her chest. "So... Wanna go for another round?"

Knowing that she was going to use that attack again, Naruto quickly turned his body and struggled to get up on his feet, as he continued to hold onto his wounded chest. "Damn...!"

"You're mine!" Rosalia shouted, as she lunged towards Naruto again, not before she spun herself around once more, and turned herself into a large drill once again. "**Tiger Fang!**" As the large drill was going straight at Naruto, the Jinchuuriki quickly jumped to the side to avoid the attack. As he avoided it, the drill curved itself up to the sky, then descended back down before going into a straight, horizontal line at Naruto again. Again, the Jinchuuriki dodged it by jumping to the side once more. The drill repeated the same routine as last time, but this time, it stayed into the air. As it was right above him, it dived itself straight down, attempting to pierce him from above.

Just like before, Naruto jumped off from the attack point, as the drill ended up striking to the ground, but not before it drilled against it and went underground, just like before. As Naruto landed back on the ground, he witnessed that the drill was going under and preparing for another underground attack. "Damn! I'm not gonna let it catch me off-guard again!" he said, as he moved his sword in front of him, before doing some spin steps, to see if the attack was coming from one of the directions.

After a few spin steps, the large drill quickly pierced through the ground behind Naruto. He quickly noticed it and turned himself around, just in time to block the attack before it could reach him. As the drill and the sword began to clashed against each other, Naruto was struggling to repel the drill from pushing his sword off of him. After a small amount of time, the strength of the drill outmatched Naruto's exhausting strength, as he was suddenly being sent flying up in the air. The drill, after it sent him flying up, curved itself up once more, heading straight towards him one more time. "Now die!" Rosalia cried out from inside of the large drill.

Naruto quickly recovered, as he saw the drill heading right towards him. With enough time, he regained his balance and quickly dived down to the ground quickly, before the drill could get to him. However, it was following him. When Naruto landed back on the ground, he quickly jumped to the side to avoid the drill, as it struck the ground and drilled itself underground. When the drill went back up from the ground, its spinning speed decreased a little, and it reverted back to Rosalia, as she then fall from the air and landed on the ground. By the time that she landed, she found out that Naruto wasn't around her sights anymore.

"Hmph... Hiding, are you?" she said, as she smirked. "So you decided to become a mouse, are you? It's useless. This area is large, but not large enough for you to hide yourself from me. It's pointless!" She attempted to try and bring him out by remarking him of the disadvantage of trying to hide from her, but even that didn't help out to reveal him. She scoffed. "Have it your way! Sooner or later, I'll just trash this place up until I find you, and I will rip you to shreds! You hear me, you worm?" With that, she began to walk around the area in search for the hiding Jinchuuriki, smashing and crushing any rocks and boulders that stood in her way, attempting to at least kill him.

Somewhere behind one of the boulders, far away from her, Naruto was hiding and sitting behind it, concealing himself into its shadow. His exhaustion was getting worse and worse, and his wound was helping it to bring him down, but it was starting to heal a little. Naruto panted in exhaustion, and he slowly moved his head to the side, so he could look behind the boulder to see what Rosalia was up to. Lucky, she was still busy smashing each rock in order to find him. Concealing his head back behind the boulder once more, Naruto began to try and think up something that could help him.

_'Phew... She's still busy trying to find me. Which means that I have enough time to gather some natural energy so I can transform into Sage Mode again. Gotta concentrate... Gotta gather the natural energy around me...' _he thought, as he closed his eyes and focused on gathering the energy around him, the energy which is unlimited no matter how much it was absorbed.

However, suddenly, three large claws suddenly thrust out in each side, disturbing Naruto's concentration upon seeing the claws. They then clapsed themselves onto Naruto, trapping him onto the boulder. "Wh... What the...!"

"Heh heh. Found you." Naruto heard a familiar voice, coming from his left. Turning his head to his left, he saw a familiar, long purple hair woman walking to the side of the boulder, before she stopped right in front of the trapped Jinchuuriki, smirking down on him. "You like it? I called this technique **Binding Tiger Claws**. It allows me to trap my enemies in their place, just like what you are now."

"How... How did you find me?"

"Simple." Rosalia giggled a little, as she took a swift swipe on her nose with her right arm, which was protected by the armor of her weapon. "A tiger easily follows the scent of his prey. Your sweat was more than enough for me to track you down..."

"Ngh...!" Naruto gritted his teeth. In hopes of getting himself free from the binding claws, he tried to use the remaining of his strength to get himself off from them. But it deemed to be impossible, with what little strength he had left in him.

"Now then... Since you are trapped here, with no hope of getting yourself free..." As she said said, she slowly lifted her right claws up to the height of her head, pointing them at Naruto, as if she was ready to thrust them into him. "I guess it's time for the predator to feast on its prey, ending its life completely."

"Damn...!" Naruto continued to struggle against the claws, even though he knew that he wasn't able to succeed, regardless.

"But I can tell you that I'm impressed that you are able to survive that long. No one else is able to defeat the sisters in battle. But you're different. And I admired that strength of yours. But, oh well... It's time to say good bye, my dear." After she finished her sentence, she began to pull her right armored claws back slowly, gathering more power to strike the trapped Jinchuuriki, in attempt to kill one of the heroes of the prophecy.

Naruto continued to struggle, trying to break free from the claws. However, after struggling against them for long, he seemed to relax now, stopping his struggle against them. He was at the mercy of the enemy in front of him, who was going to strike him down here and now. He was about to die by the hands of the enemy in front of him. If even a slight touch of the claws get to him, he would fail his duty. And he would lose his promise. He was about to lose...

However...

"... Hey..." Naruto suddenly said, alerting Rosalia, who stopped her power charge of her claws, upon hearing him. "Just why... Why do you want to create a new world so badly...? Why do you want a world where that Kuromaru guy will rule? What's up with the old world that we're living now?"

"Hm? What is this? You're suddenly asking me for the reason of my desire for a new world?" said Rosalia, who was a little confused of why he was asking her that, when he was at the point of being killed by her. "Why bother asking me this? You do understand that you are about to die, don't you?"

"Just tell me... Why..."

"Hmph... I don't have time to waste on you, by telling you my reasons. It will be a waste for you to learn of my motives just before I kill you. Just be silent and die by my claws!"

"Just why, damn it...? Why doing this? Why do you want a new world so badly!"

Rosalia growled softly. She was getting a little tired of hearing Naruto asking her the motives of her desire. She was at the point of killing him brutally. However, feeling a little sympathy for him, she sighed, as she slowly descended her right claws down. "Fine. If you desire it that much, then I will tell you. And after that, I will end your life. Got it?"

"Heh... I got it, I got it..."

Rosalia began to take a deep breath, before she started to explain everything Naruto wanted to know about her desire. "My desire... to create a new world, ruled by a single person, Lord Kuromaru... all started when the two sisters, Mona and Lisa, were born... When we were born in this world that we are living in, we were orphans, as our father and mother were both killed by a group of bandits who seek only wealth. We were both raised by a homeless person, who taught us to survive in the city. The only thing that he taught us... was stealing. Since then, as time went on and on, we became rather skillful into stealing and cheating. We were so happy to be alive... But..."

"But...?"

"... The same, homeless person, our teacher, the one who raised us to survive... turned on us. He suddenly told the authority of our actions and we were turned in. We tried to tell them that he was the one who taught us everything that we did... But no one listened. And we were sent to prison for the actions that we were taught by that damn traitor... When we were there... We had a sudden feeling that felt rather funny. It was as if every time we thought of that bastard, we grew irritated at him. But soon then, we knew why... We wanted to kill him. To make him pay for turning against us."

"... What happened next?"

"After 2 years, when we became 12 years old, we were freed from that wretched prison. We were told to never steal or cheat on people again. And yes, we listened to them... But they didn't say anything about killing them. So do you know what we did, upon being freed? We find that bastard teacher of ours... And killed him senselessly. And... Oh my..." Rosalia suddenly giggled rather sinisterly. "I just remembered... The blissful feeling of slaughtering the one person who betrayed us. It was pure bliss... It was harmony... And we felt ourselves being freed from that wretched person...! Oh yes...!"

"... So that was your revenge, huh?"

"Oh hell yes... But that didn't stop here. After we killed him, we felt like we needed more. But we didn't know why. I mean, we did kill that bastard, the one we loathed so much for two years. But that wasn't the case. The blissful feeling wasn't from killing him... It was from killing a person. Oh yes... That was when we started our career... To murder people, in order to feel that blissful feeling again. And for 4 years straight, we killed a total of 500 people. And we liked to call ourselves... the Murdering Sisters of Mexico..."

"Then what's next? How are you in the league with the Dark Wolves?"

"Oh yes... That. Our last murdering attempt in Mexico was with a special someone. We tried to kill him as quick as possible... But he easily defeated us. We were no match for him. And we couldn't possible stand up against someone like him... That special someone... was our present master, Master Carlos La Bestia."

"Carlos..."

"He offered us a deal. A deal that he said would make us happy. He wanted us to join him and the Dark Wolves in the goal to create a new world, where Lord Kuromaru will rule. And a new world that will lead us... to an unholy happiness... Oh, just the thought of it makes me excited!" When she thought about it, she had a large smile on her face, as she looked up to the sky, going deeper into the thought of it. "A new world, where we will live in blissful harmony! My big sister and I will no longer be threatened by betrayal! We will do as we pleased! It will be a new life for us!" She continued to smile just like that. However, the smile suddenly fade, and it was replaced by a sad frown. "... Oh wait... There is no us, is there? There is only me... Lisa..."

"Huh?"

"My big sister... Big sister Mona... she's dead... She left me... All alone, in this corrupted world... She was my guide, she helped me out when things are starting to go bad for me... Without her... How can I live a peaceful life...?" A single tear started to fall from her left cheek, as she tilted her head down at the ground, hiding her face with the front of her hair. "She's gone... I'm all alone... My life has no meaning, without her... She was everything to me... She was my savior... My sister... Mona..." She slowly began to sob softly, as she moved her right, armored arm to her face, trying to conceal it so that Naruto wouldn't see it.

Naruto couldn't help, but to feel sympathy for her. All she wanted was a world where the two sisters could live peacefully. A world where they could live in harmony. However, he couldn't forget that the new world that they desired was something that he could not stand, even for a second.

"... You... You...!" Rosalia's voice had a change of tone, as it was starting to increase, in response of a sudden change of emotion. Naruto could hear her growling softly. And then, she swiped her arm off of her face, as she quickly glared at him with anger. "It's all your fault! You killed her, you bastard! You took my sister away from me! And I won't forgive you for that! I will have my revenge here and now! Avenging my sister will make a great deal for me! A deal that I will always remember, upon killing with my own hands! What do you say about that, you arrogant bastard?"

"... I'm sorry..."

"Sorry...? Sorry...? Heh heh heh heh...! You think a simple apology will help you get away from me? You sure are stupid! Never feel sympathy for your enemies! Never! Or else, you'll be sorry that you'll ever do such a thing to them! Once I'm done with you, I will avenge my sister's death, and I will send you straight down to hell! Hah hah hah hah hah!" Rosalia began to cackle like a maniac, as the thought of killing Naruto to avenge Mona's death had clouded her mind. It began to corrupt her to think like a wild animal, just like a tiger. But after a while, she stopped cackling, and took a long and deep breath. "... Oh, thank you for that..."

"For what...?"

"Thank you... You make me remember the reason why I want to kill you in the first place. Killing you will be a great pleasure for me. To avenge my sister... And to kill one of the heroes of the prophecy... That will be a great deal for me!" With that, she lifted her right claws up again and pulled them back, charging up power again to strike Naruto down. "But don't worry... I'll always remember you, after your death... I'll always remember that you are the man who killed my sister, and the man who is killed by the hands of the avenging sister... Your name will be engraved into my heart, as the one who I loath so much... Say your farewells, Uzumaki Naruto..."

Rosalia smiled devilishly, as she was about to strike him down, ending his life to avenge her sister. However, just as she was about to do so, she saw something that almost caught her off-guard.

Naruto was smirking.

"What...? What are you smirking about?"

"Heh heh..." Naruto chuckled softly. "Yeah... You're right... I shouldn't feel sympathy for an enemy, just like you... But I couldn't help you. I understand the feeling that you were going through after all this time. I wanted to help you out and all... But I guess it's a little too late for that. I'll have to end your misery, by defeating you..."

"Hah!" Rosalia scoffed. "What? You think you still have enough fighting strength left in you? It's no use! You are far too exhausted to fight back, and you won't be able to free yourself from my claws that bind you! And still, you think that this isn't over?"

"Heh... of course." Naruto said. "Oh, and by the way... I should be the one to thank you."

"What?"

"That's right. Thank you for telling me your life story, before I die... That's more than enough for me..." As he trailed off from his sentence, he slowly closed his eyes from Rosalia. Then, suddenly, his eyelids and the short portion of the side of them suddenly turned orange. And when he opened his eyes up again, they were golden yellow, with his pupils in a rectangular shape. "... to transform into my Sage Mode!"

"What!" Before she had time to react, Naruto quickly broke free from the claws that hold him onto the boulder, breaking them apart into pieces. Then, Naruto quickly stood up on his feet and lunged himself towards her, sending a swift, straight punch to the face, with his free left hand. Rosalia quickly blocked the punch with her left, armored arm, but she ended up sliding back from the strength of the punch. She bended herself down and stopped herself with both of her feet and right claws, which was clinging into the ground. She looked shocked, according to the expression on her face. "No... No way!"

"Way!" Naruto said, smirking, as he quickly got into his fighting position, with his sword in front of him, full of energy. "Looks like the battle isn't quite over yet!"

"No...! You were using my stories... as a distraction for you to transform into this state?"

"That's right!" Naruto replied. "In order for me to transform into my Sage Mode, I have to stay perfectly still in order to gather the natural energy around me. And just for one, last plan, I made you talk about your life, which is enough for me to gather the natural energy, while you are busy explaining your life! I may be sympathize for my enemies, but I'm not that stupid!"

"... My chance... to kill you...!" Rosalia was shocked. She didn't know that it would lead to the freedom of Naruto, and to the restoration of his strength. Her chance to kill him to avenge her sister's death has slipped away from her grasp. She felt angry that he made her miss her chance. However, at the same time, she felt rather excited. She suddenly let out a few laughs, then she ended up cackling into the air, making Naruto a little confused of that. "Hah hah hah hah hah! Oh, this is exciting! You're back at full strength! How amazing! I may have missed my chance to kill you... But I am so glad that you're now fighting at full strength, the moment that I have long desired, against a strong opponent, such as you!"

She then slammed both of her claws into the ground in front of her, then bended down once more, reprising the position of the tiger, just like before. "Now, I won't hold anything back against you!" Rosalia said, smiling at the battle that was going to begin. "I will put an end to you, Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuuriki of the Leaf!"

"I won't go down that easily!" shouted Naruto. "I won't give up! I won't lose, until this is all over!"

And so, the victor of the battle will be decided in this decisive battle...

**End of chapter**

Well, here you go. The new chapter that everyone has been waiting for so long. Again, sorry for the long wait. Something came up and I didn't feel like continuing the story, with what I was feeling back there. But now, I'm back! And I will finish that story no matter what everyone thinks of it... At least, I hope so.

Anyways, for now on, I decided to write my new chapters a little more shorter than the previous ones. Cause... You know... I don't want to stress myself out or anything. When will there be a new chapter? Well... It depends, cause I have a few stories that I want to update as soon as possible to please the other fans. So please, be patient for a few weeks or so. Alright?

Also, I found... some flaws in the story that doesn't make any sense. Like Orihime's Soten Kisshun. In here, her Soten Kisshun couldn't completely heal Chad's arm. But when I looked up into the technique... I realized that it is a Godlike technique! It is able to heal any wounds or fatal injuries that might threaten a life! And I make it so it isn't Godlike! Ok, what do you guys think? Is it bad for me to degrade the Soten Kisshun?

There are some other possible flaws in the story, but, uh... I didn't really find any. So, if possible, can you guys tell me if there's any other flaws that I should check into? I think it's because of them that not so many people like the story...

Anyways, Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!


	16. Author's Note

Hey, everyone. It's me again. And sorry, it's a new chapter, but it's a note from me. There's something that I wanna clarify to all of you, about the story and all.

First off, well... It looks like my story is not going as what I expected it to be. It's failing a little. I believe it's because of a lot of things that are wrong, unbalanced and out of place in the story. Like the one thing that everyone know about.

Sakura's betrayal. Yes, we all know that back then, Sakura wanted to kill Sasuke herself in order to stop him. And when she asked him for her to join him, it was only an act for him to be distracted so that she could deliver a blind-point blow. However, when I first read that, I thought that she really wanted to join Sasuke. I wasn't thinking clearly of Sakura's intentions, and went on the fact that she betrays Naruto and Konoha for the sake of Sasuke. After the next chapter of Naruto, I reorganize my ideas and have her try and kill Sasuke while she's with him. But... I don't think it's gonna work out.

Also, when I first made the story, I didn't plan it to be NaruSaku. This story was supposed to be an action fic, with little romance within, until at a critical moment. But when I made it, I didn't receive much reviews or alerts. And... I don't know why, but I then decided to make it NaruSaku, so that people would come and read my story. But yeah, that was stupid on my part...

Well, I'm done with the Naruto part of the story, so I'll go through the Bleach part of it. To be honest, when I made Chapter 7, I wasn't really familiar with Bleach and the story, until I read the recent chapters of it. I didn't really know much about the personalities of the characters and how they would act. Also, there are some techniques that I don't really know how they work out, like Rukia's Tsukishiro. When I read some information about the technique, I thought that it would encase her enemies in ice and break them into pieces, killing them instantly. However, I put some throughts about it and I wasn't really sure if it is how the technique works. And most of the time, I was wrong about it and it didn't make sense in the story.

There's also a case of Orihime's Soten Kisshun's ability. Yes, it could heal people's wounds and injuries, that's what it is for. But when I put it into play, I wrote that Orihime couldn't heal Chad's arm with her Soten Kisshun. After a while, I was also wrong about the technique. It acted as some sort of a reverse time sorta thing and can bring back dismembered limbs and exterminated bodies back to its original form... At least, that's what I've learned so far. It wouldn't make sense for her to be unable to heal back Chad's arm, unless she took more time on it.

And then, there's Ichigo's overused of Getsuga Tenshou in his Bankai state. Man, what was I thinking? How could I make Ichigo spam numerous of Getsuga Tenshou without making a fact that he would run out of power because of that? Also, from what I can tell, Ichigo didn't know how to use his Bankai in the human world, before he met didn't make sense for him to be able to use Bankai without any problem, unless he put some more effort into it. But again, I wasn't too familiar with the series.

Ok, well, I talked about those issues, but I got more. It's all about the story, and how it was unbalanced and not making sense. In the story, I included Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, FullMetal Alchemist, Inuyasha, DragonBall, Soul Eater and in my preference, Kurokami. But each of them have a difference in power. Especially DragonBall. The characters are basically almighty beings and can take on a lot of enemies, even the villains of the story. Unless I somehow find a way to resolve the unbalance of power, it wouldn't make sense whatsoever.

I wanna say something about the villains of the story too. They are basically OCs, but back in my old fics, which had OCs in them, I couldn't help, but make them too overpowered than the original cast and have them take most of the spotlight. That's the problem I have with creating OCs with balanced power and skill, and the number of appearances they make. But in this story, the villains appear in a sudden and critical moment, which is a little bit better. But looking at Carlos... Well, it looks like I still can't find a way to balance the power.

There's also one more thing. Why I want to make a crossover fic like this one? Well... I really like crossover. Especially when it's around anime/manga or games. I always love the fact that someone, like Naruto, will meet someone, like Ichigo, in order to fight together for the sake of a certain desire. I didn't care much about how different the two series are, so I went along with it. And with this fic, I wanted to express my desire of creating a world where our favorite shows come together to reach a certain objective. But... Heh. Maybe I was too excited, and didn't realize how impossible that sounded.

Well, that's all I can say about that. But there are still a lot of issues that people don't really like. I know. I'm sorry. When is the next chapter? I don't know... Maybe soon, or... Well, I am going to write the next chapter, but if after this one... If the story is still failing, I can't garantee that I will still continue it or halt the story all together. Well... I guess we'll have to find out soon enough, right?

Well, Ja Ne, everyone. And stay tune for the next chapter, if there's still some people left.


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